The words ‘Handforth Parish Council’ should probably mean something to you by now.
Less than 24 hours ago, those three words may have only been on the radar for Mancunians purely due to the fact that it’s just a stone’s throw away to the south of us, being just over the Cheshire border into Wilmslow, but now, it means something completely different.
And if it doesn’t mean something different to you yet, it really should.
Let us catch you up to speed.
It’s hard to know where to begin with it all, but to cut a long story short, clips from a Handforth Parish Council Zoom meeting have been going viral on Twitter today, and while this may sound like a bizarre thing to have captured the attentions of the nation, considering council meetings are known to be like watching paint dry at the best of times, there’s a very good reason for it.
And that reason is because this meeting descended into what can only been described as absolute chaos, with raised voices, hysterical laughter, endless complaints, passive aggressive behaviour, and swearing councillors trading insults left, right and centre.
People on the internet have been describing the whole thing as “British comedy gold” and “the best British comedy in decades”, and honestly, they’re not wrong.
i’ve never missed in person meetings more than i did watching this parish council meeting descend into chaos pic.twitter.com/I75zi1fIK5
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 name on everyone’s lips right now – none other than, Jackie Weaver.
“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.
And it all went rapidly downhill from there.
But if Jackie hadn’t kick-started the ensuing madness with her undeniably savage actions, then Handforth Parish Council and Jackie Weaver wouldn’t have gone on to become trending topics on Twitter, and our Friday would be a lot duller, so it’s not hard to see why the internet has taken a particular liking to her.
Not only has Jackie now reached legend status, being the meme of the moment and prompting responses from a whole slew of famous names, she’s also bagged herself her own parody Twitter account too.
Now, you might have thought that those few viral short clips were all this meeting had to offer to the world, but we couldn’t be happier to say it actually only touches the surface.
The extended version / meeting highlight reel is even better.
Sure, the ejection of ‘Handforth PC Clerk’ has deservedly grabbed all the headlines, but the full video is 18 minutes of absolute insanity that some comedy writers couldn’t have written better even if they’d spent years brainstorming it.
There’s so many moments to unpack, but we really don’t want to spoil the viewing experience for you.
At one point though, as ridiculous as it sounds, Jackie Weaver even declares that the rest of the meeting members must only refer to her as Britney Spears from now on, and if that doesn’t make you want to watch it, we really don’t know what will.
The comments section is filled will people saying things like: “John Smith is the most John Smith looking person ever. Perfect casting.”, and “the sexual chemistry between Alan’s iPad and Sue is palpable”, as well as “I’ve just spent the last 30 minutes on Zoopla trying to find somewhere, anywhere, in Handforth to move my entire family. This is the greatest thing I’ve seen”.
The best way we can try and sum it all up is, and this could very well be the understatement of the century at this point, but as Jackie so eloquently puts it – “It’s nothing if not lively in Handforth”.
Trending
Brighton’s Carlos Baleba is now said to be ‘keen’ on a move to Manchester United
Danny Jones
Manchester United may not yet be done with their transfer business, as another potential summer target, Carlos Baleba, is now reportedly “keen” on a move to the Theatre of Dreams.
The Brighton midfielder popped up on the radar of numerous clubs around Europe following a breakout season in 2024/25.
At just 21 years old, the promising young player has recently emerged as one of the most exciting prospects in the Premier League over the past 12 months or so, and it appears Man United are leading the race to sign him.
Many around the club think the Cameroonian CDM could be the perfect fit for Ruben Amorim’s somewhat makeshift midfield at the moment; perfectly positioned to take the starting spot from an ageing Casemiro or an as-yet unproven Manuel Ugarte. Moreover, it’s now said United appeals to him.
📹🚨🗣️| Laurie Whitwell on Carlos Baleba and Manchester United:
“Now you come to Carlos Baleba, and as you say, Brighton are going to ask for a lot of money for him.
I don’t know an exact figure – I don’t think that’s been communicated yet. Clearly United feel as if they have… pic.twitter.com/MNYQzgeU5a
Whitwell had already explained that the Seagulls would be setting a hefty and perhaps intentionally excessive asking price in a previous episode, as it is understood they would prefer not to sell him at all, with a figure of at least £100 million being floated around as the current rough estimate.
Given that Man United have already forked out over £200m on a selection of new signings – the most recent being striker Benjamin Šeško – the chances of him making the jump in this current window look slim, though it is thought there is still an eventual switch that could be done.
“Talks are continuing”, according to Whitwell. “There are obviously intermediaries working on behalf of United and the player [Baleba] as well, to see if Brighton would be open to this [a deal].
“Brighton are saying he’s not for sale, and there is quite a bit of scepticism at Manchester United as to whether this can be achieved, but still, it’s been totally shut down.
“That is leading me to believe that you never know, but I’m probably in the camp of it being unlikely. There are ways this can be sorted; a crucial point is the player – he’s keen on the move to Old Trafford.”
Whitwell goes on to detail that current players have been in touch to explain the “landscape” around the club amid this rebuild, reiterating that the environment is positive. However, Brighton boss Fabian Hürzeler seems pretty confident that the south coast club will hang on to him, at least for now.
Fabian Hürzeler is adamant Carlos Baleba will still be a Brighton player at the end of the transfer window, despite interest from Manchester United… 👀 pic.twitter.com/4AagOtKJbl
Addressing the rumours with reporters, the German manager insisted, “I didn’t see any change. He seems to be in a very good place, enjoying it [the pre-season and training] with his team-mates.”
With that in mind, it’s more probable that Baleba could join the Red Devils next year, when he’s had yet another season to develop and prove himself in the English top flight, though his value will probably increase even further.
On the other hand, if Baleba does indeed want to swap his white and blue striped shirt for a red one, he could push for the negotiations progress, like new arrival and fellow compatriot Bryan Mbuemo did.
This is an outcome that could, in theory, benefit both teams, as not only are Brighton still considered a selling club, but with another EPL campaign under his belt, they could demand and even larger fee come summer 2026/January if Amorim is still desperately in need of a central solution.
You can watch the episode – one that also touches on the new so-called ‘Man United mantra’, which has even been printed on water bottles around Carrington – in full down below.
Featured Images — MyAlbionTV (screenshot via YouTube)
Trending
Aldi is back looking for another taste tester to send FREE crisps to
Emily Sergeant
Aldi is looking for a special someone to become its official crisp taster, and will send the lucky winner a bunch of bags to try for free.
Calling all self-confessed crisp connoisseurs, this one’s for you.
That’s right, Aldi is ready to make savoury snack food lovers’ dreams come true, as the supermarket retailer is back on the look-out for another official ‘Crisp Taster’ to join the team, especially after the inaugural search last year proved to be so popular with shoppers, amassing hundreds of applications.
The highly-anticipated return also follows interest from local celebrities last year too, with Manc actress Michelle Keegan declaring to her 7.5 million Instagram: “IS THIS TRUE @aldiuk? Because I am READY and available with lots of experience.”
Last summer, it was 39-year-old NHS worker George Critchley from Sheffield who became Aldi’s first-ever Official Crisp Taster… but now it’s your turn.
Aldi is back looking for another taste tester to send FREE crisps to / Credit: Aldi UK | Esperanza Doronila (via Unsplash)
The successful applicant will receive a selection of Aldi’s most popular crisps to sample at home for free, including Aldi’s Specially Selected Lightly Sea Salted Hand Cooked Crisps, Specially Selected Mature Cheddar & Red Onion Hand Cooked Crisps, the Snackrite Delta Strips, and Snackrite Cheese Flavour Cheezios.
All that’s required in return is a set of exclusive reviews rating the crisps’ taste, crunch, texture and appearance to help guide the supermarket’s Buying Team on potential future flavours.
“After the success of last year with hundreds of entries, we welcome our shoppers feedback once again to make sure our latest products provide the quality, taste and price they deserve,” explained Julie Ashfield, who is the Chief Commerical Officer at Aldi UK.
“Our range of crisps are going down a treat this year, so launching the role for a new Crisp Taster is the perfect way to encourage innovative ideas and delicious products onto shelves.”
Fancy it then? To apply, you’ll just need to be aged 16 or over, a legal UK resident, and create a short application video, that’s no more than a minute long, explaining why you should be Aldi’s next ‘Crisp Taster’.
Applications are now open, with a closing deadline of Thursday 21 August.
You’ll need to share your application video via the email address [email protected], and you can find out more information on the official ‘Crisp Taster’ webpage here.
Emily Sergeant -
5th February 2021 
