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Parish councils have long been seen as the gentle backbone of local democracy in towns and villages across England, overseeing the maintenance of bus stops and the maintenance of sidewalks and street lighting.
But a group of parish councilors have been accused of holding “Britain’s worst Zoom gathering”, after a chaotic and often aggressive online session.
Britain’s tabloid newspapers on Friday gave the dubious accolade to the Handforth Parish Council online meeting after YouTube highlights garnered hundreds of thousands of views on social media.
The uploaded images made the main characters in the Zoom feud, board chairman Brian Tolver and secretary Jackie Weaver, overnight celebrities.
Like so many video conference calls, the council meeting in North West England in December was riddled with technical problems.
Members forget to turn off their microphones, a councilman interrupts to take a phone call, and late-arriving participants are unsure whether the meeting has officially started.
But tensions simmered from the start between Tolver and his nemesis Weaver boiled over by a question of bureaucracy: whether the meeting was legally called and who was in charge.
“You have no authority here, Jackie Weaver! No authority at all!” Tolver yells into the camera after the employee threatens to kick him out of the meeting.
Moments later, Weaver quietly carries out his earlier threat and fires the president.
After she suggests voting for a replacement, Vice President Aled Brewerton explodes.
“I’ll take care!” he says before telling Weaver to “read the standing orders.”
“Read and understand them!” Brewerton yells before Weaver kicks him out of the virtual meeting.
As the footage has made its way into the mainstream media, the dispute has gained momentum in the public sphere.
“I’m not really sure who was in charge,” Weaver told BBC radio on Friday in one of several media appearances.
Tolver has stood firm in his own opinion, calling Weaver’s actions a “gruesome attack on democratic rights.”
Like many organizations forced to limit the number or close offices entirely due to the coronavirus, the UK parliament has had to adapt its own procedures to include virtual contributions.
Even in parliament proceedings they have occasionally been beset by internet connection problems, but they have never included an expletive in their first 30 seconds, as was the case in Handforth.
But social distancing has still inspired some warmer barbs.
The Speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsey Hoyle, has repeatedly mocked a congressman who calls online, likening him to an airplane pilot because of his headphones.
“Ground control to First Officer Bob Blackman,” she said as she called him for a contribution.
