Andy Large's political miscellanea

To the Editor, I attended the SEND meeting at Holmes Chapel Leisure Centre on April 24th, hosted by our local MP, Sarah Russell . It was a truly enlightening experience—if your goal was to learn how to ignore the basic laws of economics while squinting at illegible PowerPoint slides. As a performance by our elected representative, it was remarkably amateurish. The slides were a visual disaster, though it hardly mattered since Ms. Russell simply read them to us verbatim, adding the occasional uninspiring footnote. One might expect a bit more professional polish from the person representing us in Westminster, but perhaps clear communication is "not a priority" in the current five-year plan. What was truly breathtaking, however, was the "gleeful" disregard for the fiscal burden that SEND spending and transport is placing on the national and local budget. When I pointed out that national SEND spending has already doubled over the la...

Dear Editor, I was disappointed to read Karen Richards’ comment on the High Court (and now Supreme Court) ruling that “woman” in the Equality Act 2010 means a biological female. She described it as “a nonsense decision… not worth the paper it is written on.” This is not a “nonsense decision.” On 16 April 2025 the UK Supreme Court unanimously ruled in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers that the terms “woman”, “man” and “sex” in the Equality Act refer to biological sex as recorded at birth. The court’s 88-page judgment explains in detail why this is the only interpretation consistent with the wording and purpose of the 2010 Act and the limited effect of a Gender Recognition Certificate. The ruling does not remove trans people’s legal protections under the “gender reassignment” characteristic. It simply confirms that single-sex organisations and services — including the Women’s Institute — may lawfully limit membership or access to biological women where ...

Hi Tim Happy Easter to you. I want to congratulate you on the latest PC Pro. It is a classic. Very, very interesting and rewarding technology focused articles. I particularly liked the one about battery charging - good to see some more info on Silicon Carbon. The MacBook reviews were well researched and useful even though I just cannot get on with MacOS at all. I found Barry Collins' OS suggestions to be very creative. Hopefully some company can implement these, because they are needed. One final note : I am using Eleven Reader to speed through the mag on my phone when I need my hands free. It is a total game changer for me and I would recommend it to who enjoys rapid content digestion and learning. Best regards Andy Large Cheshire, UK    

Dear Editor, No doubt you are aware of the upcoming Congleton North by-election. The Greens are fielding a candidate, yet your coverage continues to allow them to present as harmless, cuddly tree-huggers. This image is misleading. In reality, Green policies favour Authoritarian Communism (responsible for around 100 million deaths so far), Islamism, and the legalisation of hard drugs.  I believe your readers would benefit from more robust scrutiny of "Green" positions rather than the current soft coverage.  A more balanced and questioning approach in the run-up to the by-election would be welcome and appreciated. Regards, Andy Large Alsager

Dear Editor, Our local MP recently took to Facebook to trumpet her chairmanship of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Family Friendly and Flexible Working. Proudly launching a toolkit for SMEs. And highlighting government support for parents – including the upcoming changes to paternity leave and day-one rights. All looks very worthy, no doubt. But buried in the warm words is the familiar 52-week statutory maternity leave entitlement. I can't help but notice how neatly that rounds to exactly one year. What a coincidence! I'm sure armies of economists crunched the numbers and financial trade offs rigorously before settling on this magic figure. Or did they? Why precisely 52 weeks? Why not 53, to cover a leap year? Why not 31.5 for a more "nuanced" approach? Or 4,369.45 weeks to really stick it to business? No, it had to be one tidy year – perfect for the photo-op, the headlines, and the virtue-signalling brownie points. Economic trade-offs for SMEs? Small businesses ...

Dear Editor, I am writing as a concerned resident of the Congleton area to highlight a troubling pattern in recent political calls for government intervention in everyday markets – specifically fuel prices and housing tenure – and to question why such interventions are repeatedly proposed without apparent understanding of basic economic trade-offs. Local MP Connor Naismith has urged the Competition and Markets Authority to investigate and act against alleged profiteering in fuel prices. Similarly, Sarah Russell MP has championed reforms to end leaseholds, framing them as exploitative practices that burden homeowners. If these markets are indeed rife with excessive profits and straightforward opportunities for lower prices or fairer terms, one has to ask a simple question: Why are the MPs themselves – or others who share their views – not stepping in to provide that better alternative? Why not launch a competitive fuel supply business to undercut the incumbents and donate the resulting ...