Today, Parliament was dissolved and the 2015 election campaign begins. This means there are no current Members of Parliament:. (The Parliament.uk website is still available to everyone.)
Most political commentators are predicting a hung Parliament. That means some of the smaller parties will be able to influence the plans taken forward by the new Government.
However every politician will be listening hard to what ordinary voters have to say.
So it is really important to raise the issue of HS2 with Parliamentary candidates.
You can do this if people come to the door canvassing. You can do this at hustings, or at any other time when the political parties try and interact with you.
We will be keeping up with the election campaign over the next few weeks: in the meantime, here is the Countryfile roundup of political party views of HS2.
I believe that they are beginning to see the flaws in the scheme .Also they are now free from the whips who order them how they are to vote.They realise I hope that the majority dont want it,and wont vote for those who do.Yes it may be in there back yard but like most schemes it is only if it is local that you know about it because you have looked into its impact.
I think that most people can “see the flaws in the scheme” Elaine, and probably have done ever since it was published…but I fear that you are still deluding yourself if you think it is a major consideration for most people who intend to vote next month.
What it may be, is an opportunity to review and refine or modify the scheme so as to improve its usefulness and connections to the existing network – maybe a slight reduction in the top speed would be worth considering. Engineering anything on this scale-rail or road, must advantage some and disadvantage others.
Perhaps the design can and should be scaled back from the extreme state of the art maximum concept of the engineers. Perhaps the beast can be tamed and made to serve…
But with hardly a mention in the opening shots of the election campaign, HS2 has not been and is unlikely to become a major issue.
It is usually a mistake to believe entirely one’s own propaganda, however well intentioned.
Welcome back.
Do you think the compensation offered if fair and proportionate given the damage caused to tens of thousands of residents ?
It is funny on the Jeremy vine show today ,the program came from birmingham interviewing MPs from ukip cons lab all three did not want hs2 and was there first subject they all mentioned in the interview .Not On Our Door Step springs to mind