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.
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
Pep Guardiola hints at when Manchester City fans can expect to see their latest arrival
Danny Jones
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has given supporters a rough timeline as to when they can expect to see their new signing, or at least their latest arrival, make his first appearance.
The Blues wrapped up the January transfer window with four major signings: their new attacking number seven, Omar Marmoush (who has already bagged a hattrick on his home debut) promising defensive duo, Abdukodir Khusanov and Brazilian Vitor Reis, as well as their ‘mini-Rodri’, Nico Gonzalez.
However, the club has had another late arrival who was technically signed back at the start of last year but who has spent for the last 12 months or so loaned back to his previous parent club, River Plate in Argentina, waiting to make the move over to the Etihad Stadium – and now he’s here in Manchester.
Speaking on his touchdown in 0161, Pep said Claudio Echeverri won’t be thrown into first-team action straight away but did give a rough estimate as to when City fans could expect him to get involved. You can see him discussing the integration plan in his post-match press conference following the Spurs win.
The mention was only brief but there’s still plenty of reason for Man City fans to be excited by the late January signing.
“Yeah, he [Claudio Echeverri] is going to start to train and mainly will be for the end of the season, maybe the [Club] World Cup and as soon as possible [that] he arrives he can adapt quick for the future.”
As mentioned, the 19-year-old Argentinian attacking midfielder from Resistencia officially put pen to paper with CFG back in January 2024 and was quickly dubbed ‘the next Messi’.
Now, although the football world is often quick to jump the gun with these things and he isn’t the first and certainly won’t be last to be slapped with this premature title, he’s done more to back up these claims since then than he has rubbish them.
Starring at the 2025 Under-20 South American Championships, netting six goals in nine games to finish the tournament as the second highest scorer thanks to notable braces against Brazil and Uruguay as the young Argentine’s finished as runners up.
He also notched 48 senior appearances for River Plate thus far, netting four goals and grabbing eight assists in that time, not to mention having already captained his national team at the 2023 Under 17s World Cup, where he scored another five.
Safe to say there’s plenty of talent to be tapped in this lad.
Once again, Echeverri won’t go straight into the senior set-up for a little while yet, barring a major injury crisis, but he’ll be a more than exciting addition to the City Football Academy and for future first-team lineups for years to come.
Who knows, maybe he’ll be included in an FA Cup matchday squad? Nevertheless, you can expect him to not just come of the bench but hopefully show what he can do at the Club World Cup this summer.
City‘s first fixture as reigning champions of the competition will be against Moroccan side Wydad AC on 18 June 2025.
You can watch Echeverri’s first full interview as a Man City player down below:
The new Man City signing is excited to be finally be part of the club 13 months on from agreeing his contract.
Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025
Emily Sergeant
Rochdale has officially been named Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture for 2025.
Taking over the reins from Bolton – which held the title in 2024 – and following in the footsteps of Stockport before that, which held the title in 2023, and even hosted a massive ‘Town of Culture Weekender’ festival with 50+ free events to celebrate and bring its title year to a close, it’s now the turn of the north-eastern Greater Manchester borough of Rochdale.
Rochdale’s year will build on the town’s already-rich cultural history and international reputation as the home of the co-operative movement.
More than 35 arts organisations will be bringing together an ambitious programme of festivals, exhibitions, events, and performances throughout the year.
Unfamiliar with what the ‘Greater Manchester Town of Culture’ title is all about? It’s an accolade that’s handed out every year to different boroughs across the region.
Bury was the inaugural title-holder 2020 and held onto it in 2021 too due to the COVID pandemic, before being followed by Stalybridge in 2022, Stockport in 2023, and of course, Bolton in the year just gone.
The title celebrates Greater Manchester’s culture and heritage.
As well as getting a new title to shout about, it also sees the towns given a grant from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) culture fund to help develop a programme of cultural events and activities throughout the year.
Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025 / Credit: The Manc Group | Rochdale Council
In Rochdale’s case, you can expect the ‘very best local talent’, as this year is promising to put ‘people power’ centre stage, with residents helping to plan, develop, and deliver a lineup of creative activities, alongside a number of major events.
This includes the popular free days out for families, an exciting new urban arts festival, two different food and drink festivals, a lantern parade, the Ignite Fire Festival, a Pride parade, and so much more.
You can also expect live music performances, a new people’s gallery, and even some major international collaborations that are yet to be announced.
Rochdale is taking over the reins from Bolton, which held the title in 2024 / Credit: Rochdale Council
“Rochdale is a place with a rich cultural history, so it is great to name it Greater Manchester’s town of culture as it’s town hall and town centre enter a new era,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham as the borough was crowned this week.
“Rochdale submitted a fantastic bid for this which, was incredibly exciting and ambitious, while being firmly rooted in its local talent and deep history.
Emily Sergeant -
5th February 2021 
