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{{Town Councils in Cheshire}}
{{Town Councils in Cheshire}}


[[Category:Local government in Cheshire]]
[[Category:Town Councils in Cheshire]]
[[Category:Parish councils of England]]
[[Category:Local precepting authorities in England]]
[[Category:Local precepting authorities in England]]
[[Category:Handforth|Town Council]]

Revision as of 16:29, 24 September 2022

Handforth Town Council
Type
Type
Leadership
Chair
Cllr John Smith
Vice Chair
Cllr Susan Moore
Parish Clerk
Ashley Comiskey Dawson
Structure
Seats7 Councillors
3 / 7
Improving Handforth
3 / 7
Handforth Ratepayers' Association
1 / 7
Elections
Multiple non transferable vote
Last election
2 May 2019
Next election
4 May 2023
Meeting place
Handforth Town Council, The Youth Centre, Old Road, Handforth, SK9 3AB
Website
www.handforth.org.uk
Handforth Hall

Handforth Town Council is the parish council for the civil parish of Handforth in Cheshire. Previously known as Handforth Parish Council, it was renamed Handforth Town Council on 31 July 2021.[1]

History

First iteration

Following the Local Government Act 1894 Handford Parish Council was established for the rural Handforth parish. It was part of the Stockport Rural District and in 1901 had a population of 794. In 1904 the rural district was abolished. The Handforth civil parish became an urban district and the parish council became Handforth Urban District Council, absorbing powers that were previously the responsibility of Stockport Rural District Council. In 1936 the council and urban district were abolished as part of a Local Government Act 1929 county review order and the former area was split between Cheadle and Gatley and Wilmslow.[2]

Second iteration

The parish council was established again in May 2011 with the new civil parish formed from part of Wilmslow. Its duties and role are to represent the local community, consult and advise on planning applications and provide local amenities and activities such as Christmas lighting and grounds maintenance.[3] Its early projects, such as the development of green belt land, the building of a war memorial, the creation of an after-school club, the creation of the parish council's Facebook page and installation of CCTV cameras were blocked by members of the council, mostly the Handforth Ratepayers. Accusations of personal conflicts of interest were made by the Ratepayers and their rivals on the council, Improving Handforth, and relations between the two became increasingly fractious. Formal complaints were made by both groups, including by Aled Brewerton (who was then a member of the public). Lawyers' statements were read out at meetings on a regular basis.[4]

A meeting of the council was highlighted by politics student Shaan Ali in 2021, who noted, "it's the parish councils who directly work with communities and it's so fascinating..."[5] He found the video on YouTube and told a friend, Janine, who tweeted it. This was then retweeted by thousands of accounts, including those of Piers Morgan, Richard Osman and Greg James, [5] leading to increased attention and the meeting going viral, becoming the subject of attention and comment.[5][6]

Parish councils are permitted to be known as town councils, village councils, community councils or neighbourhood councils and require only a resolution of the parish council to change their name. At a meeting of Handforth Parish Council on 13 July 2021 it was resolved that from 31 July 2021 it would be known as Handforth Town Council.[7]

Councillors

Elections were held in 2019[8] when the following councillors were elected. The chair is John Smith and the vice chair is Susan Moore. Since the 2019 elections, Jean Thompson has been disqualified and both Aled Brewerton and Barry Burkhill have resigned. In 2021, Julie Smith and Sam Milward were elected and Kerry-Jane Sullivan was voted in as a co-opted member.

East Ward

This ward was not contested.

  • Cynthia Samson (chair of finance committee) – Improving Handforth
  • John Smith (chair of council) – Improving Handforth

South Ward

  • Ribia Nisa – Labour
  • Kerry Sullivan – Improving Handforth

West Ward

  • Susan Moore (vice chair of council, chair of planning and environment committee) – Independent[9]
  • Julie Smith (chair of personnel committee) – Independent
  • Sam Milward – Independent

Elections

2019 elections

East Ward

Incumbent Councillors Cynthia Samson and John Smith were returned, uncontested. Both had been elected in 2015 under the "Improving Handforth" banner and were returned uncontested under the same banner.

2019 Handforth Parish Council elections: Handforth East Ward (2 seats)[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Improving Handforth Cynthia Margaret Samson Unopposed N/A N/A
Improving Handforth John Michael Smith Unopposed N/A N/A
Majority Unopposed N/A N/A
Majority Unopposed N/A N/A
Turnout N/A N/A N/A
Improving Handworth hold Swing N/A
Improving Handworth hold Swing N/A

South Ward

Incumbent Councillor Brian Tolver was re-elected, with a reduced majority. He had previously been elected in 2015 as an Independent, but stood in 2019 under the banner of "Handforth Ratepayers' Association". He was joined by long-serving Cheshire East Council member Barry Burkhill, who has represented Handforth on Cheshire East Council and its predecessor Macclesfield Borough Council since 1979. Burkhill joined Tolver in standing as a member of the "Handforth Ratepayers' Association". He replaced incumbent Councillor Ian Clark, who did not re-contest the seat.

2019 Handforth Parish Council elections: Handforth South Ward (2 seats)[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Handforth Ratepayers' Association Barry Edward Burkhill 316 29.98 +29.98
Handforth Ratepayers' Association Brian Victor Tolver 271 25.71 −9.71
Independent Andrew Backhouse 239 22.68 +22.68
Independent Roger Clive Small 228 21.63 +21.63
Majority 77 7.31 +7.31
Majority 32 3.04 −7.16
Turnout 1,054 42.60 −26.37
Handforth Ratepayers' Association gain from Independent Swing
Handforth Ratepayers' Association hold Swing

There were 5 spoilt ballots in the South Ward.

West Ward

All three Councillors for the heavily-contested West Ward were elected for the first time. The three incumbent Councillors returned in 2015, Kerry Burgess ("Independent and Protect Greenbelt"), Matthew Clark (Independent) and Kerry Sullivan (an ally of Councillors Samson and Smith in the East Ward, under the "Improving Handforth" banner) all declined to re-contest their seats. The three successfully-returned Councillors in 2019, Aled Brewerton, Susan Moore and Jean Thompson, were all elected as Independents. However, after the election, both Aled Brewerton and Jean Thompson would side with the two "Handforth Ratepayers' Association" Councillors in South Ward, while Susan Moore would side with the two Independent Councillors in East Ward who had originally been elected under the "Improving Handforth" banner. Councillor Thompson was then unseated in 2020, due to a failure to attend any council meetings for six months.

2019 Handforth Parish Council elections: Handforth West Ward (3 seats)[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Susan Elizabeth Moore 451 21.17 +21.17
Independent Jean Thompson 369 17.32 +17.32
Independent Aled Brewerton 353 16.57 +16.57
Independent Michael Keith Thompson 294 13.80 +13.80
Independent Lee Robert Nelson 263 12.35 +12.35
Independent Timothy Hardy 218 10.23 +10.23
Liberal Democrats Chris Fortune 182 8.55 +8.55
Majority 157 7.20 +7.20
Majority 75 3.44 +3.44
Majority 59 2.71 +2.71
Turnout 2,180 23.92 +23.92
Independent gain from Independent and Protect Greenbelt Swing
Independent gain from Independent Swing
Independent gain from Improving Handforth Swing

There were 20 spoilt ballots in the West Ward.

2015 elections

East Ward

2015 Handforth Parish Council elections: Handforth East Ward (2 seats)[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Improving Handforth Cynthia Margaret Samson 534 43.31
Improving Handforth John Michael Smith 473 38.36
Independent Beryl May Chapman 226 18.33
Majority 308 24.98
Majority 247 20.03
Turnout 1,233 53.93
Improving Handforth gain from Independent
Improving Handforth gain from Independent

There were 44 spoilt ballots in the East Ward.

South Ward

2015 Handforth Parish Council elections: Handforth South Ward (2 seats)[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Ian Clark 540 39.36
Independent Brian Victor Tolver 486 35.42
Improving Handforth Victor Moran 346 25.22
Majority 194 14.14
Majority 140 10.20
Turnout 1,372 68.97
Independent hold Swing
Independent hold Swing

There were 37 spoilt ballots in the South Ward.

West Ward

2015 Handforth Parish Council elections: Handforth West Ward (3 seats)[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent and Protect Greenbelt Kerry Burgess Unopposed N/A N/A
Independent Matthew Clark Unopposed N/A N/A
Improving Handforth Kerry Sullivan Unopposed N/A N/A
Majority Unopposed N/A N/A
Majority Unopposed N/A N/A
Majority Unopposed N/A N/A
Turnout N/A N/A N/A
Independent and Protect Greenbelt gain from Independent Swing
Independent hold Swing N/A
Improving Handforth gain from Independent Swing

Complaints

"Jackie Weaver" redirects here. For the Australian actress, see Jacki Weaver.

In 2017, residents complained about the conduct of parish councillors as they believed meetings were becoming unproductive.[13] The Independent described Handforth council meetings as "full of petty arguments about points of order and whether items had been agreed for the agenda – with the battle of ideas entirely absent."[14]

A letter from David Brown, director of governance and compliance at Cheshire East Council, made references to councillors' behaviour in the past and alleged misconduct, including suggestions by unnamed councillors that elections should not be held:[15]

As Monitoring Officer in Cheshire East I have received a multiplicity of complaints and referrals. These range from multiple complaints about councillors' behaviour; to fundamental issues of governance and member/officer engagement. The most recent referrals relate to suggestions that some members of Handforth Parish Council have purported to take decisions that are plainly unlawful, and these decisions have resulted in expenditure of public funds.

— David Brown, Director of Governance and Compliance at Cheshire District Council[16][17]

At an employment committee meeting held on 4 November 2020, three councillors – Brian Tolver, Aled Brewerton and Barry Burkhill – tried to suspend the clerk Ashley Comiskey Dawson.[18]

On Cheshire East Council (CEC), Burkhill faced a vote of no confidence from Conservative councillor Liz Wardlaw for his "complicity in the bullying" of Jackie Weaver – coordinator of a council Zoom call meeting – and for bringing "this council and his role within this council into disrepute".[19] The motion was referred to the council’s standard committee and was not debated at the full council meeting in February.[20] Burkhill quit the parish council in May 2021 saying, "I have decided to concentrate on my Handforth Ratepayer Independent role at CEC, as too much of my time has been taken up in trying to deal with HPC's enduring problems."[21]

In April 2021, chair Brian Tolver and vice-chair Aled Brewerton both announced they would be stepping down from the parish council. Their resignations were believed to have been in response to the reaction of the now viral Zoom meeting.[22][23]

Brian Tolver only resigned as chair, not as councillor in the April meeting, whereas Brewerton resigned from both.[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Handforth: Viral meeting row council changes 'toxic name'". BBC News. 3 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  2. ^ Handforth: Past, Present and Future (PDF), Handforth Parish Council
  3. ^ About, Handforth Parish Council
  4. ^ Phipps, John (16 April 2021). "Inside Handforth: Jackie Weaver and the battle for England's soul". The Economist.
  5. ^ a b c I made Handforth Parish Council go viral', BBC, 6 February 2021
  6. ^ James Graham (6 February 2021), "Handforth parish council: A very English coup – starring Jackie Weaver", Sunday Times
  7. ^ https://handforthtowncouncil.gov.uk/archive/2021/Minutes/Minutes-July-2021.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  8. ^ Reeves, Lisa (4 May 2019), "2019 Election Results: Handforth Parish Council - wilmslow.co.uk", Wilmslow.co.uk, retrieved 15 February 2021
  9. ^ Handforth Parish Council – West Ward Election Results, Cheshire East council, 2019
  10. ^ a b "2019 Election Results: Handforth Parish Council - wilmslow.co.uk". www.wilmslow.co.uk.
  11. ^ "Handforth Parish Council - West Ward Election Results 2019". www.cheshireeast.gov.uk.
  12. ^ a b c "Election Results 2015: Handforth Parish Council - wilmslow.co.uk". www.wilmslow.co.uk.
  13. ^ Topping, Stephen (15 May 2017). "Handforth residents slam behaviour of parish councillors". Knutsford Guardian. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  14. ^ "The history of the Handforth parish council feud". The Independent. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  15. ^ Hansen, Richard (5 February 2021). "Handforth Parish Council warned over election blocking and misconduct claims". CheshireLive. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  16. ^ "Handforth Parish Council". www.handforth.org.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  17. ^ Farrer, Martin; Pidd, Helen (5 February 2021). "Insults and expletives turn parish council Zoom meeting into internet sensation". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  18. ^ Reeves, Lisa (5 February 2021). "Updated: 'Handforth Parish Council are not fit for purpose'". AlderleyEdge.com. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  19. ^ "Handforth Parish Council: No confidence vote after Zoom meeting". BBC News. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021. The mayor's participation in that meeting has led us to believe he has brought this council and his role within this council into disrepute. He made no attempt to intervene as it became clear participants in that meeting were being bullied. The inaction of the mayor could be seen as a demonstration of his complicity in the bullying that occurred and this cannot be ignored. In light of the above [we propose] this council resolves it has no confidence in the mayor and his term of office as mayor and chairman of the council will cease immediately.
  20. ^ Davies, Ethan (18 February 2021). "Cheshire East Mayor's no confidence vote to be examined". Knutsford Guardian. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  21. ^ a b Davies, Ethan (18 May 2021). "Handforth Parish Council sees another viral video member resign". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  22. ^ Pidd, Helen (29 April 2021). "Two Handforth parish council members quit after viral Zoom call". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  23. ^ "Handforth Parish Council chairman quits in latest meeting". BBC News. 26 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  • Channel 4 News – Meet Shaan Ali, the 17-year-old A-Level student who made a small parish council meeting go viral after he unearthed it on YouTube.
  • Twitter – the original tweet by Shaan Ali's friend Janine
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