HS2 Decision Condemned
January 10, 2012 9:40 AM
Members of Kenilworth and Southam Liberal Democrats have condemned the decision announced about HS2 today, and have called on local MP Jeremy Wright to consider his position as a Conservative Party Whip.
For nearly two years local Lib Dems have joined with other LibDem constituency parties along the planned route to campaign alongside members of the STOP HS2 and AGHAST groups to try to change the proposals. Local Lib Dems have agreed that the business, economic and environmental cases for HS2 are each fundamentally flawed and instead have argued that the need for High Speed Rail in the UK, as a way of reducing North-South inequalities in the UK, can best be achieved by other means, in particular by changes to the West Coast Mainline and extending the length of trains and platforms on the Chilterns line.
The announcement made today by the Secretary of State for Transport ignores the recommendation of the Transport Select Committee's Report on HS2 last autumn which said that "no decision on HS2 should be made until a comprehensive strategic appraisal and consultation has been carried out on the full 'Y' network, including the routes to Manchester and Leeds". It also ignores the findings of a YouGov poll in December which showed that nearly two thirds of the public (64%) oppose money being spent at this time on HS2.
"We're extremely disappointed with today's announcement," said County Councillor John Whitehouse (Kenilworth Abbey). "We made strong representations to both the current Secretary of State for Transport and her predecessor but, like the concerns of residents throughout Warwickshire, these seem to have been ignored. We see no need for 250mph prestige trains between Birmingham and London. However, the fight is not completely over because the government's proposal now has to be voted on in the House of Commons and we support the call for a judicial review of the HS2 consultation process. And, in our opinion, if Jeremy Wright is going to have any credibility left as Kenilworth's MP, he should consider his position as a government Whip."
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