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

Not all parish councils are like that!

My local parish council, which I've been on for 10 years, has 5 male councillors and 5 female, and a female clerk. As it happens, there was a contested election in 2019. Two of the elected members stood down because of Covid - one because he had a business to look after and the other because he had a shielding family member to care for, and their replacements had to be co-opted, but 8 are fully elected. We have the sex balance right but we'd like to do something about the age profile. We know that on average we're too old. Most members are over 60, simply because it's an unpaid role and difficult to fit round earning a living and raising a family, but there are two younger women. It tends to attract retired people with a decent pension who want to give something back and have the time to do so. Perhaps one older man can be condescending to women. I've chaired it in my time and behaviour like that would not be tolerated on my watch. We've had both women and men as chairs.

We are, needless to say, not Handforth.

frumpety
the council website has been edited today
but the evidence is mostly there
they are a shower of shit (as are several others in the 2011 cohort)
we WILL undo the damage Pickles did

Caaaarll
Jackie is playing to her audience
she knows EXACTLY what she is taking on there
hence why she was Zoom host, not a Cllr

I just hope this gives publicity to the May elections
that result in good things

I hated watching it- was expecting some silly Vicar of Dibley spat, it was horrible and I have seen this type of shouting down before aimed at female colleagues.

I watched. I have to say I did think the men's behaviour was funny (sorry) but was really laughing at them. Just because women put up with this rubbish all the time and Jackie Weaver coped admirably. Sometimes the subversive thing to do is laugh and I think increasingly our society and commentary seriously lacks humour. Also to say, it reminds me of a rather wonderful novel, now also televised, called "The Casual Vacancy" by our very own J K Rowling. If you haven't read or watched, do. It is brilliant and relevant to this,

The young angry one sounded possessed! Hissing with venom.

@MammaMiaWallace On the version I watched, it was said that Jackie Weaver had been invited in because a previous meeting had also seen bad behaviour and the removal of the chair. She said she was there to keep that from happening again. Due to this, she was definitely entitled to challenge that behaviour and remove those people when they began to misbehave again- indeed that is why she was brought in.

@Caaarrrl

Those men intimidated her

No, those men tried to intimidate her, they thought they had the power and tried to use that little power they believed they had, which amounted to shouting at a device, turns out she had the power and used it when they acted entirely inappropriately.

I wonder if the people who find it funny are in the fortunate position of never having shared their life with a man who shouts and rages at them, who bullies and controls. Because I’ve had that experience and I don’t find it funny at all. I am in awe of Jackie Weaver for remaining so calm and acting so decisively.

I’m speaking about general reactions to the video. Not on this thread.

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).

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.

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.

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

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

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

@Kit19

FFS! really what is the point of womans hour these days?

they could have done a whole piece of bullying and misogyny at work but instead they turned it into "hahaha gosh arent zoom meetings funny?"

there seems to be an accepted view that things like Parish Councils, Boards of Trustees or committees that run e.g. local sports or community facilities arent 'proper' things and people can behave however they like because it doesnt matter

For a womens program, it is astonishing they treated it the way they did. They could have had such a good discussion of misogyny at work.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

Held her own when asked stupid questions

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.

Fab summary @DavidBowiesEyeMakeUpArtist