MAY I please comment regarding the YouTube and news story about Handforth Parish Council planning and environment committee on Zoom?

As the chairman of a local parish council I found this interesting as the behaviour of the chairman and vice chairman in raising their voices in the way they did was of course reprehensible, but I suspect there is some hidden reason behind it, which is never quite explained.

It results in the clerk, Jackie Weaver, taking it upon herself to mute first the chairman then the vice chairman, quoting the1972 Local Government act as her reason to act.

The 1972 act states quite clearly that the chairman governs the meeting, and in the absence of the chairman the vice chairman takes on the role.

Yet the clerk here takes it upon herself on Zoom to exclude both officers and then request a new chairman to take over.

In this I believe that she is clearly in the wrong. She has no authority to silence anyone.

Her role as the clerk and proper officer to the council, is one of appointment by the council, and her role is solely to administrate and where requested to do so, to advise the elected members of the council.

Yet on television over the weekend, the clerk has been lauded as some kind of savour to the council, which to my mind is totally incorrect as the whole affair now portrays parish councils everywhere in a manner that brings them into disrepute.

Having said that, it goes on to say that the “monitoring officer” had sent a strongly worded notice to the council, presumable regarding past behaviour of its elected officers.

Something here is implied but we do not know what it is.

As a parish councillor I find this all very curious, and I have no doubt we will now be afforded from on high a great deal of very interesting advice on the subject.

Don McBeth

Chairman, Ditchling Parish Council

Grand Avenue

Hassocks