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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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
Four North West towns named among Britain’s top 10 seaside ‘property hotspots’ for 2026
Emily Sergeant
Four North West towns have been named among Britain’s top 10 ‘property hotspots’ by the sea for 2026.
You may already be familiar that, every year, leading property listing website Rightmove takes a look at all the cities, towns, and residential areas across the UK where house prices saw a significant hike on average last year, and puts together a top 10 list.
The ‘hotspot’ table is made up of a variety of locations where prices rose the most, when compared to the end of the year prior.
But now, they’ve done a special seaside version too.
Of course, “Manchester‘s got everything except a beach” so it won’t come as a surprise that no Greater Manchester towns are featured on this list, but that isn’t the case for the rest of the North West though, as Merseyside and Cumbria are well represented.
In fact, it’s actually the North West that’s taken the top spot, as Bootle in Merseyside has been named Britain’s top seaside house price hotspot, with asking prices having risen 11% in the past year alone, and that’s even with an average house price still way below the national average at £141,680.
Four North West towns have been named among Britain’s top 10 seaside ‘property hotspots’ for 2026 / Credit: James Feaver | Gabe Fender (via Unsplash)
Second place can be found just 10 minutes further up the coast in the town of Crosby, where the average asking prices are up 9% compared to last year, reaching £330,900.
Wallasey comes in at sixth place on the list, with house prices rising 7% to £200,753 on average, while Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria ranks at number nine with house prices increasing 6% to an average of £185,169.
Rightmove says the data shows that coastal living remains ‘relatively accessible’ in several areas, with nine of the top 10 fastest growing seaside locations still priced below the national average, and across more than 100 coastal areas analysed, more than 80% also have an average asking price below the national average (£378,304).
“The fastest-growing seaside markets this year show that demand for coastal homes in many areas remains resilient, even as overall price growth across the UK stays more modest,” commented Colleen Babcock, who is Rightmove’s property expert.
“While some locations are seeing strong price increases, there are still many areas where living by the sea is more affordable, giving buyers a wider range of options depending on their budget.”
Featured Image – Mitchel Orr (via Unsplash)
Trending
Lottery Winners help debut new hometown anthem ‘Song For Leigh’ at massive stadium gig
Danny Jones
Indie pop favourites Lottery Winners smashed their first-ever solo stadium show at Leigh Sports Village at the end of May, and they also helped debut a dedicated hometown anthem for the town.
One of several current stars coming from in and around the Wigan music scene, it’s been a big few years for the Greater Manchester band, and their biggest-ever headline show on Saturday was yet more proof of just how much they’ve achieved in their career thus far.
That being said, however, this lot will never, EVER forget where they’ve been and, most importantly, where they come from.
You’ll find no better example of that than their sold-out LSV gig, which saw multiple celebrations of their local area, than one particular moment…
Posting on social media in the aftermath of the landmark live performance for the four-piece, frontman Thom Rylance wrote: “Little old Leigh, I haven’t slept a wink. I’m not sure I ever will again. I’ve never felt such a powerful punch of love hit me like that before, and I’m not even sure what to do with it all.
“Thanks isn’t enough, but let’s start there. Thank you for carrying us all this way. Thank you for making us feel special. Thank you for making all of this feel proper. Thank you to the grown-ups who trusted us with such a mammoth thing. Absolutely stupid that you let us do that, but I hope we made you proud.
“The feeling I get from looking across and seeing my best mates on the planet literally living their dream, in full HD, makes me so happy I could burst into bubbles. And thank you to Leigh. Our home. Our people. Nobody does it better. Last night was proof that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things.”
But as mentioned, perhaps the most wholesome part of the entire event was when they aired a brand-new tune created by Spirix Collective – a group of local musicians, dancers, and all-round creatives based in the heart of Leigh. Here’s what they’ve made:
What a lovely thing for everyone tied to this place.
Produced partly in an effort as part of the historic Lancashire county village’s bid to become the UK’s next first Town of Culture, it’s a track created on behalf not just of Leigh itself but to further help shine a light on the often criminally-overlooked borough of Wigan.
As for natives themselves, they signed off the milestone by adding in the caption: “Lottery Winners are massive. KOKO [Keep on keeping on].”
It’s fair to say that after seeing some of the scenes from over the weekend, we tend to agree.
Who was there on the night and, whether you were lucky enough to be or not, what do you make of the ‘Song For Leigh’ now you’ve heard it?
Emily Sergeant -
5th February 2021 
