Jackie Weaver: Sexism at heart of Handforth Parish Council row

6 February 2021, 12:04 | Updated: 7 February 2021, 08:27

Jackie Weaver hints that sexism the root problem in viral video

The viral star tells LBC that the aggression of some councillors toward her was because they 'didn't like being told no by a woman.'

Jackie Weaver rose to overnight stardom after a video of a zoom call between her and members of Handforth Parish Council went viral.

The chief officer of the Cheshire association of local councils joined Matt Frei to dissect the raw fury on display in the video, which was directed her way by some male members of the council.

"How do you account for this level of aggression," Matt wondered.

Ms Weaver argued that "this has gone on in Handforth for some period of time," and told Matt that "maybe an underlying part of it was they just didn't like being told no by a woman."

When Matt pushed her on whether sexism was at play in the video, Ms Weaver insisted "that is certainly part of it."

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The local leader added that she is optimistic about the message the video portrays: "I really hope that if this does nothing else [...] it encourages people to come forward and get involved."

Ms Weaver went on to tell Matt that it was a difficult decision to remove the councillors from the meeting, but it felt good to stand up for what is right.

"There are rare occasions in life where you feel you are able to do the right thing," she said, concluding that "the councillors that were absolutely out of order, it was good to say no."

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