Committee

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The lower the stakes, the higher the passions.

We owe the committee organisers of the financial services industry an apology, though one thing conspicuously absent from the Handforth Parish Council Planning & Environment Committee is that kind of subtle, cold, oppressive “peace” of consensus built on silent intimidation so prevalent in the corporate world. There is none of that. No quarter is asked and none given.

It has everything that a corporate committee meeting should have: points of order raised before kick-off, passive-aggression, active-aggression, apparently despotic manipulation of the media, micro-aggression, macro-aggression, technological ineptitude (IAN YOU ARE MUTED), random members of the public invited in while the actual chair and vice-chairman are excluded —

And then, at 17:00, acting Chairperson Smith asks, “Can we make this recording available? Of the Zoom meeting?” […] “It might be interesting for other parties on the council to hear it.”

“I think if this goes viral on the internet or whatever it’s going to start a war of words.”

YOU CAN SAY THAT AGAIN.

See also

• Steering committee
• Operating committee