Handford Parish Council debacle

The chair however just seemed to be being assertive to me.

WILL YOU STOP TALKING?!

One thing that annoyed me and I haven’t read the full thread was that another woman asks that Jackie be treated with respect and then she ( the other woman) is laughed at by the men. Blatant sexism

[quote foxhat]@MammaMiaWallace and @RavingAnnie

They clearly reference a previous meeting when some of the men were also behaving appallingly so this is part of pattern. Besides which, when you behave like that you cannot expect to stay in a meeting, even if you talk like that for just 20 seconds, it's not OK.[/quote]
I think what's different is that I could see the VC was behaving inappropriately. He seemed very angry and storming about and swearing is obviously not ok. The chair however just seemed to be being assertive to me. It wasn't until I found out he was wrong in what he was saying and that Jackie had authority to do what she did that it all made more sense. My confusion is that others (ie the rest of the world!) don't seem to need that context to see his behaviour as bullying. Just trying to work out why. As @MammaMiaWallace also saw what I did I wonder if it's because I are ND and I often miss things socially. Or perhaps I have just normalised this type of behaviour?

Our parish council is just the same. One female joined and did great things, had great ideas but they didn’t like them , they didn’t want knew ideas. Eventually she resigned as they bullied here and blocked everything she did. It’s really sad.

Any member of the public can attend. Sues husband was there too.

@MammaMiaWallace and @RavingAnnie

They clearly reference a previous meeting when some of the men were also behaving appallingly so this is part of pattern. Besides which, when you behave like that you cannot expect to stay in a meeting, even if you talk like that for just 20 seconds, it's not OK.

Now I know the backstory, it makes more sense. There was a history of the chair and his cronies running everything and due to one of his cronies leaving they had been trying to stop anything being done and had refused to hold meetings (there's a better summary upthread by DavidBowie....). So Jackie's what seemed to be overreaching to me, makes sense with more context.

Also a clerk isn't just a minute taker/PA type person I don't think, they seem to be people that advise on the proper proceedings from what I've read? In which case the chair was mansplaining! If I've understood it correctly.

Now what's interesting is that I don't believe that everyone watching this video knows all of the above but this leaves me wondering how did they pick up that shack or wax in the right and the others were in the wrong with no information or context on what was happening.

I might get my DH to watch as he is NT and ask him what he can see that I can't!

Fab summary @DavidBowiesEyeMakeUpArtist

It's funny if you watch more than just the first minute. It has cringey moments like a man having his back to the webcam, a bloke muttering 'fuck off' not realising he's not on mute - all things that are only happening now because of Zoom and lockdown, which makes it culturally relevant and relatable to our current times.

And I don't think anyone watching it fails to see the bullying and the misogyny expressed by the men. We're laughing because of Jackie Weaver's brilliant calmness in the face of such rudeness. We're laughing because we enjoy seeing these men get the reprimand they deserve. We're laughing because it's so refreshing to see an older woman going viral for the right reasons.

Further into the meeting it's pointed out that the chairman also called himself 'clerk' in his name on Zoom, to which Jackie weaver retorts 'from now on, you can call me Britney spears'. She's witty and clearly intelligent and I think it's really nice that people, especially young people, on social media are fully respecting that.

I just watched her on the last leg. What an interesting and intelligent woman she is

Held her own when asked stupid questions

Mmmmdanone
But it doesn't matter if Jackie was right or wrong. That is a distraction. The men's behaviour was unacceptable and they alone are responsible for that behaviour. Honestly for me who had a raging aggressive husband it was awful to witness. It took me right back to that abuse. And because I wasn't expecting it as it was introduced in a jokey way it was like walking into a brick wall.

Hats off to Jackie Weaver. Those men were callous asshats.

What an absolute state of smug self-
satisfying presumptive twits.

I thought the behaviour was awful but I wasn't surprised. It reminds me of one of the previous Ministers I worked for explaining why local government was so shite - I can hear him saying it now.

Agree that those councillors need challenging - better and more diverse representation.

it was also full of process driven bullshit, people bring petty minded and vile

Yes - apart from Jackie's contribution, it really was a textbook example of how not to conduct a meeting - even if you take out the shouting and hyena impersonations.

Didn't find it remotely funny either. Saw her interview with Cathy Newman and it was very telling that Jackie said she would have been afraid to say what she did if the men had been in the room. Disgusting misogynistic bullying and verbal abuse.

I actually watched and it and thought the men were really distressed and were lashing out.

I think there are some significant mental health issues going on and Jackie was just passing through. She did well.

I have known Aled Brewerton in a professional capacity, a few years ago. He was a very odd, unpredictable person then and appears not to have changed.
I think there is a real divide in opinion between people who found it funny, and people who found it shocking or disturbing. I suspect that all of us who have had the experience of being a woman with a point to make in a business meeting full of men who don't want to listen find it sad and reflective of a macrocosm.

Get him to read this
www.nalc.gov.uk/news/entry/1655-nalc-responds-to-handforth-parish-council-s-meeting-going-viral-1
and this
www.slcc.co.uk/parish-council-meeting-goes-viral-slcc-press-release/

Its a case where his instincts are wrong

My husband saw it and thought Jackie was in the wrong. I can't look at him.

The KEY POINT
is that we can change this

• by going out and challenging them in May
• by logging in to meetings and asking sensible questions
• by hassling MPs about the Standards Board
• by retaining as Clerks and having the Chutzpah of other clerks (the SLCC will support you)

This is not a thing to be sad about
its a RALLYING CALL for change

I thought the sexism and ageism was blatant but it was also full of process driven bullshit, people bring petty minded and vile. Plus, completely chaotic and barking mad. I thought it was fucking hilarious and everyone who thinks it’s funny is laughing at the knob heads and not Jackie Weaver, who was cool, calm and collected. She had power and professionalism.

I found this video distressing, not amusing in the slightest. It matters not one jot whether Jackie actually had authority over the meeting. That's like looking for an excuse for domestic violence. Nothing justifies the bullying which a number of these men did. Sadly I expect they've not been immediately stripped of office, which is exactly what should happen to people who can't act like grown ups when things are not going their way.

Most members are over 60, simply because it's an unpaid role and difficult to fit round earning a living and raising a family

This is the biggest barrier to better, more diverse local governance in England IMO. I live in Canada now and being a local councillor is not a voluntary role. In smaller places it is more of a nominal salary, but in half of the municipalities in the province where I live, councillors make over $40K (roughly £22K).