Everyone else is writing a satirical piece about Handforth so I figured I should too
Unless you live under a particularly remote rock, it’s fair to assume that you’ve seen the most recent must-watch of the pandemic era — by this I mean Handforth Parish Council’s December meeting highlights, not the Queen’s Gambit. In what at first appears to be an incredibly well rehearsed piece of absurdist theatre, made for the Zoom era, the chaos of the meeting seems to have touched a nerve in a time where new creative content is drying up.
But what is it about the political struggles of a parish council that has given it global appeal? Is it that Jackie Weaver presents a sort of strong leadership that has apparently disappeared from the political landscape? Is it universal dislike for everyone on Aled’s iPad? Is it simple pack-instinct, and the desire to jump on what appears to be the latest bandwagon? Or is it that none of us really want to watch Bridgerton, and this seems close enough?
Whatever it is, I’m delighted that the latest global phenomenon is about the internal bureaucracies of local government. I have absolutely no idea what the clerk of a parish council does, or in fact what a parish council does at all, but that doesn’t make this feel any less like a West Wing-The Thick of It-Vicar of Dibley crossover episode, with enough budget to buy a premium account on Zoom and nothing else. It makes me want to engage in local politics for the hope of winning a BAFTA, and in the meantime who knows, maybe I’ll become as passionate about the correct understanding of the standing orders as Mr Aled.
Personally, I’m all for handing over the keys of Number 10 over to Jackie Weaver, despite her alledged lack of authority. Compared to either Johnson or Starmer, she seems to provoke a sense of loyalty, show real personality, and, from the way that she singlehandedly smashed the Handforth junta, I would hazard a guess that she’d put a stop to giving out government contracts to Tory party donors.
Anyway, before everybody forgets about this in about a week’s time, I’m going to change my Zoom name to “Handforth PC Clerk”.
