Council members will be allowed to work from home despite Jacki Weaver Zoom disaster

Millions of people around the world watched the clash after chairman Brian Tolver uttered the line: “You have no power here, Jacki Weaver, no power at all.”

Ms Weaver continued to push for virtual meetings to become a permanent option for local authorities, warning that scrapping them would be a “terrible idea”.

But temporary laws allowing council members to tune in from home expired in May 2021, forcing them to return to their chambers.

The government now wants to hand the mantle back to individual councils so they can decide for themselves whether to allow people to take part virtually.

Under plans currently being discussed, council members will be able to apply for “permission” from the relevant body to attend official meetings remotely.

Ministers also proposed allowing people to vote by proxy when they find it difficult to take part due to “personal circumstances” such as maternity or paternity leave.