Handford Parish Council debacle

[Kit19]

Depressing how many people in the MSM and on social media seem to find this hilarious probably because its a parish council meeting and seem to be overlooking the bullying and misogyny

@LApprentiSorcier

One of the things I love about this is that odious men around the country might now think they might be recorded and exposed.

The problem is that men like this don't see themselves as odious. That shouty bloke probably imagines most people who have seen his rant are in awe of his intellect, and anyone who isn't is too stupid to appreciate him, or a woman so doesn't count.

Agree.

Men like this just assert that anyone who criticises his behaviour is WRONG! Simple as that. They are wrong and that is all he needs to justify his abusive behaviour. Lots of men think this way. Them being right (in their mind) is all the justification they need to start shouting and being abusive. The man in question may have been right (I don’t think he was?) but there are ways to challenge what you believe to be illegal or incorrect actions that don’t involve throwing a full on toddler tantrum.

@MintyMabel

It is funny because she got the better of them. It is funny because they said she had NO AUTHORITY and she showed she did by kicking them out. It is funny because those guys were shown to be absolute buffoons and I can imagine them seething and ranting about it.

Not overlooking the bullying and misogyny, cheering at how it was dealt with.

Exactly minty

At present all Parish, District and County council meetings are broadcast online.

Not sure why this one went viral
but I've seen worse
(including the police being called to separate fighting councillors)

Many of that ilk of people have no shame
the only way to get them out is to beat them in an election

Jackie Weaver has become an Internet sensation. Most of the memes are about the fact that she did indeed have 'the authority'.

I think Jackie Weaver is great.

The old bullying men have definitely shown themselves up in this viral video. Everyone is laughing at them.

I'm an ex-councillor (several years ago) and have attended meetings in my new parish. Watching the video yesterday led to several flashbacks of poor behaviour and evenings that went on for two hours an indeterminable time.

Men like this (and it is usually men, although I have known a couple of women behave like this) are the reason people get put off joining local councils.

Completely agree with those upthread who've said a) these men won't recognise themselves as having repugnant behaviour and b) people don't see misogynistic bullying. It's too normalised.

I'd love this to be some kind of watershed moment, but I doubt it will be.

I've watched the video of the meeting before this one and Aled reckoned he'd lodged papers at the high court about the illegality of the meeting and threatened members of the public with a non molestation order if they emailed him to ask for a copy of an agenda (that should have been public anyway).

This is all being investigated by the Council and sounds like by other bodies too so hopefully it will all come out in the wash. I can't believe that standards of conduct haven't been breached.

I can't believe that standards of conduct haven't been breached.
They have
as per the Monitoring Officer notice on the council home page
BUT
there are no sanctions available
thanks Eric Pickles

Quote from the BBC news article:

"Mr Tolver said he did not regret how he had acted in the meeting.
He said Ms Weaver was just present as a member of the public and "had no status to speak other than when invited".
"If you look at the first meeting you will see I have reason to be angry," he said."

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-55946252

This type of man is incapable of accepting he is in the wrong. Even if everyone in the entire universe disagreed with him, this type would not back down.

“had no status to speak other than when invited".

That tells you everything you need to know about him.

This in the Manchester Evening News makes it clear that Jackie Weaver did have the authority to act as Proper Officer:

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/who-is-jackie-weaver-handforth-19774637

I was listening to PM on Radio 4 earlier and Evan Davis was treating the thing as a joke. He also had a male guest who I think was from a LA as he talked about potholes etc, who was minimising the whole thing as one of those things that happens when people get heated about local matters that they care deeply about.

Not a mention of sexism. Not a mention of the various other men who made their points firmly and calmly and didn't resort to yelling. Not a single woman interviewed to give a female perspective on what it's like to go through your life with angry men yelling at you that you have no authority. They don't see it, do they?

Flashbacks to a meeting I attended after I ceased to be a governor, having previously been Chair of Governors for two years and done an enormous amount of unpaid work for the school, but fallen foul of a faction who loathed the Headteacher and who had organised a petition objecting to some of his decisions, which by extension was a petition against me, because they couldn't get at him (protected by the LEA). I had drafted the Annual Report which by custom and practice we distributed to all families in the school every year. I went to the meeting where this was to be approved, by the invitation of the Vice-Chair. I talked them through it. A newly elected Parent Governor then told me I could leave, as it was for the governors to decide whether to approve the report, and I wasn't a governor. Thanks a bunch. It took me quite a while to recover my equilibrium after this episode.

The WH coverage was everything I dreaded WH would become. The opener was a cheery 'has lockdown got to you like it has this chap?" Nothing about the sexist bullying behaviour shown.

I contacted them to complain about this. Jackie herself was great. Never heard that presenter before (generally avoid WH). She sounded pretty gormless.

www.nalc.gov.uk/our-work/local-elections

There are a few ghastly comments on M.E.N. and Cheshire Live agreeing with Tolver and his cronies.

“had no status to speak other than when invited".

So can only speak when spoken to ? Which is absolute power hungry bollocks, the Clerk can interject at any time to advise the councillors, especially if they are being total knobs failing to understand that their actions are possibly not conducive with the framework that all PC's should work within.

[quote findyourbacon]Glad to hear Jackie knows the difference between sex and gender

twitter.com/skynews/status/1357727568334630914?s=21[/quote]

frumpety
She is not, never was and never will be
the clerk.
She is CEO of the CALC

its a council that has been dysfunctional since it was founded in 2011

I found it funny as a council officer who had dealt with men like this often but doesn't have the power/ability to boot them from the meeting. Just Jackie saying she will remove him and then ...gone. I think she is absolutely bloody brilliant.
Aled is not a practicing solicitor but does love threating legal action (sound familiar?) Including against a woman who removed him from a Facebook group for unacceptable behaviour.

Aled is not a practicing solicitor but does love threating legal action (sound familiar?)

I suspect it is not such a rare quality amongst the 48%

@ListeningQuietly , I appreciate that she wasn't the employed by the PC Clerk, they had suspended him I believe ( would love to know that story ! ) I thought she had come in to support the PC, so acting a bit like the Clerk and Bouncer in one ?

I just saw Jackie on the itv news saying that the whole encounter made her knees shake. Why is it being reported as a funny zoom meeting gone wrong type of story?

Those men intimidated her and it is very telling that the women involved were glad that it was on zoom and not in person.

Disgusting reporting all round.

It was an unpleasant thing to watch in parts, the male aggression was quite something.
It was all too relatable for many women I suspect.
The moment when the ex chair got cut off was funny but overall it wasn't a comic video.

@AdventureIsWaiting

I'm an ex-councillor (several years ago) and have attended meetings in my new parish. Watching the video yesterday led to several flashbacks of poor behaviour and evenings that went on for two hours an indeterminable time.

Men like this (and it is usually men, although I have known a couple of women behave like this) are the reason people get put off joining local councils.

Completely agree with those upthread who've said a) these men won't recognise themselves as having repugnant behaviour and b) people don't see misogynistic bullying. It's too normalised.

I'd love this to be some kind of watershed moment, but I doubt it will be.

Everyone on Twitter, fb and news (and here!) is recognising that it is misogynistic bullying. Prob not the men themselves yet but I think they will now spend years being reminded of this

Councilworker
This maybe it. I found on a Google search so is public. Doesn't sound z very nice ace to live if you are a woman.

My abuser was very good at projecting so I would get accused of what he was doing to me. Classic abuse tactic.

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Parish councillors get voted in with a very low level of votes. Now that their neighbours know how bad they are it might be easier for someone new to be elected simply for an alternative to these shouty men.