But now, Handforth Parish Council has announced it’s legally changed its name.
Local council meetings are usually known to be like watching paint dry at the best of times, but it’s hard to forget when clips from a Handforth Parish Council Zoom meeting went viral on social media all the way back in February thanks to a choir of raised voices, hysterical laughter, endless complaints, passive aggressive behaviour, and swearing councillors trading insults left, right and centre.
It went so viral, in fact, that people were aptly describing it as “British comedy gold” and “the best British comedy in decades”.
You may remember that with the tension between members having been continuing to build, the meeting eventually culminated with the Handforth Parish Council Clerk himself – or at least, that’s what his screen name said, but his identity is a little sketchy – being booted off the call entirely by the year’s unlikely star – none other than, Jackie Weaver.
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“You have no authority here, Jackie Weaver”.
Those were the Clerk’s famous last words before Jackie Weaver exercised the authority she actually did have, and removed him from the meeting.
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And it all went rapidly downhill from there.
The viral meeting was labelled “British comedy gold” and “the best British comedy in decades” / Credit: Handforth Council / YouTube (ma0sm)
Since the infamous meeting, three councillors – including the former chairman Mr Tolver, have left their positions, and now, new chairman John Smith said the council has been renamed to Handforth Town Council because they wanted to “move away from the toxic side of Handforth”.
Mr Smith said the name change had helped with the “disconnect between the old and the new”.
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He continued: “We’re just getting back to what we used to be doing, which was doing stuff for the town council [and] we’re trying to deliver a number of projects that will improve people in Handforth’s lives.
“What we’d like is, by definition of what we’re doing, people don’t refer to the viral issue any longer.”
Mr Smith also said that the change of name made sense because of the size of the Cheshire town and to make it more inclusive, due to the word parish’s links with the church, adding that: “So many people believed it to be something to do with the church [and] the Vicar of Dibley didn’t help.
“What we wanted to do was ensure people that we’re nothing to do with the church, we’re purely here as a town council so that’s why we decided to change the name.”
The new chairman said the name change had helped with the “disconnect between the old and the new” / Credit: Handforth Council & YouTube (ma0sm)
Alongside the changes made at the council, life has also changed for then-Clerk Jackie Weaver, who has since gone onto to become somewhat of a household name, and still maintains her links with the town of Handforth.
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“We’ve always had a good relationship with Jackie Weaver,” Mr Smith said.
If you’re wondering what Ms Weaver is up to nowadays, she is due to return to Handforth later this year to switch on their Christmas lights on 27 November.
Government to begin giving millions of UK workers ‘significant’ pay rises from this week
Emily Sergeant
The Government is to begin giving more than three million workers across the UK a ‘significant pay boost’ from this week.
Announced as part of last year’s Budget, and in a bid to ‘put thousands of pounds back in the pockets of working people every year’, the Government confirmed back at the beginning of February that a new National Living Wage of £12.21 per hour, and a new National Minimum Wage of £10 per hour would take effect from April onwards.
Ministers said the 6.7% increase to the National Living Wage – which is now worth £1,400 a year for an eligible full-time worker – is a ‘significant step’ towards delivering the manifesto commitment to deliver a ‘genuine’ living wage.
Today, millions of working people will get a pay rise as the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage increase.
New rates:
🔹 from £11.44 to £12.21 if you’re 21 and over 🔹 from £8.60 to £10.00 if you’re 18-20 🔹 from £6.40 to £7.55 if you’re under 18 or an apprentice
— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) April 1, 2025
On top of this, the National Minimum Wage for 18-20-year-olds is also set to go up by a record increase of £1.40 an hour, which means full-time younger workers eligible for the rate will see their pay boosted by £2,500 a year.
The minimum wage pay boot has also been called the first step towards removing the ‘unfair’ age-bands that see a 21-year-old getting paid more than a 20-year-old for doing the same job.
According to the Government, this is also the first time the National Living Wage has taken into account the cost of living and inflation.
Three million UK workers will be getting a ‘significant’ pay rise from this week / Credit: Pexels
“In the last Parliament, living standards were the worst on record and sky-high inflation was crushing working people’s finances,” commented Chancellor Rachel Reeves, explaining why the pay boosts are being introduced.
“Making work pay is good for workers, will strengthen businesses’ workforces, and will grow our economy for years to come.
“It’s a key milestone on my number one mission to get more money in people’s pockets as we deliver our Plan for Change.”
Not only that, but the minimum hourly wage for an apprentice is also set to be boosted later this year too, with an 18-year-old apprentice seeing their minimum hourly pay increase by 18% to £7.55 an hour.
As a result of these particular changes, a further four million workers also could benefit from the positive spill-over impacts of the rate increases.
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Body of woman found in River Mersey last year finally identified after ‘extensive’ investigation
Emily Sergeant
The body of woman who was found in the River Mersey last year has finally been identified.
Following what has been described as an ‘extensive investigation’ by Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Major Incident Team to determine the identity of the body, which was sadly discovered in the river adjacent to Chorlton Water Park on 21 March 2024, the family of the victim has now been informed and supported by specialist officers.
The victim has been formally named as 38-year-old Laura Stanley, who was originally from Derbyshire but was living in Stockport.
After the body was discovered, and ‘exhaustive and determined’ investigation by GMP officers began to identify here, including detailed checks of both national and international databases.
The Major Incident Team (MIT) also closely worked in collaboration with specialist forensic service providers to create an anthropological profile, which eventually culminated in the creation of a facial reconstruction image.
Following several media appeals, a relative of Laura contacted officers and then a DNA match was confirmed through a familial link.
“Laura was a kind and gentle person with a great sense of fun and adventure,” Laura’s family said in a heartbreaking tribute to her.
“She was generous, thoughtful, caring and always keen to volunteer within the community. Laura was a proud and loving mum and she will be greatly missed by her girls and all of her friends and family who loved her dearly.”
The River Mersey, across from Chorlton Water Park, where Laura’s body was discovered / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
While Laura has now been identified, police say further investigations will take place to understand her last movements, the events that led to her death, and her discovery in the river.
Additionally, as is standard practice, GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate is also reviewing a previous missing report relating to Laura in the time before the discovery of her body, which will determine prior contact relating to Laura, and whether the appropriate measures were enacted.
#UPDATE | A woman who was discovered in the River Mersey last year has been identified following an extensive investigation by officers in GMP’s Major Incident Team.
Thank you to those of you who have shared our appeals over the last year.
Anyone who knew Laura and thinks they may be able to assist with the investigation is asked to contact police by calling 101, or by using the Live Chat Service at gmp.police.uk, quoting log number 1191 of 21 March 2024.
Alternatively, you can contact the Major Incident Team Syndicate 3 directly on 0161 856 9479, or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Emily Sergeant -
3rd November 2021 
