TODAY, 26TH January, the rearranged ‘Making HS2 Happen’ conference will take place at The London Transport Museum. The conference had originally been scheduled to take place on the day of the planned HS2 announcement in December, but was rearranged after Justine Greening delayed her announcement to give the impression she was looking in more detail at the plans for HS2. The reality was the Government was scrambling around to find some mitigation which they hoped would buy off the opposition, and even went so far as to tout some of the minor changes as mitigation when the reality was many were forced by engineering necessity. When the event was first advertised in December, the Transport Times website stated that Justine Greening would be attending the event called making HS2 happen ‘just after’ announcing she would go ahead with HS2.
The event has been organised by Transport Times, an organisation headed up by Yes to HS2 Director, David Begg who admitted last week at a lecture at Nottingham Trent University that “It’s not the best projects that get funded, it’s not even the ones with best business case that get funded, it’s the ones with political lobby behind them that get funded.”
Stop HS2 Campaign Co-ordinator Joe Rukin said;
“Throughout the process so far Governments have worked hand in hand by the people lobbying for HS2, the very people who will make money out it. Sir Rod Eddington warned of this in 2006 when he said the project was just going through because of strong lobbying from political advocates. Now those who will have their snouts in the trough are having their jobs for the boys victory party. This conference was originally scheduled, with the Secretary of State attending, for the same time in December that the announcement was due to happen, then it was still rearranged before the announcement actually happened just over a fortnight ago. From start to finish it’s all been about consultants who have fingers in more pies than Greggs making a packet at the taxpayers expense. It stinks like a sewage farm in a heat wave.”
“HS2 has got to this stage because of patronage, ignorance and lies and todays conference does nothing but confirm it. It is the wrong project for this country, it will never deliver on its nice-sounding-but-completely-fabricated promises and only carries on the principle that those who have access to politicians and expense accounts can carry on bleeding the country dry. We will not give up on this fight. As Justine Greening herself said, if Ministers will not listen in Parliament, they will have to listen in the courts.”
Notes to Editors:
- For more information contact Joe Rukin on 07811 371880.
- More details from David Beggs Lecture at NTU can be found at https://stophs2.org/news/4451-begg-differ-evening-david-begg.
- The event will take place at the London Transport Museum, Covent Garden Piazza, WC2E 7BB from 9.45 until 3.30. Stop HS2 representatives will be available near the venue until from 8.45am until 11am.
- More details on how to donate to the Stop HS2 legal challenge can be found at https://stophs2.org/news/388-send-money
- People can sign the petition against HS2 at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/353
Happy as sandboys no doubt, with all that taxpayers money up for grabs. And not having to invest a penny themselves. When will this country ever learn?
Is Greening really saying it will only take about 20 mins from Birmingham to Manchester, including the stopping time at Brmingham allowing .for hundreds to get off She did say it would only take !hr 8mins London to Manchester.
Where will 51m party be, once they have got their legal mate’s into the Judicial Review trough?
why is it being held in London?
And I didn’t realise that today was February!! Joe, you are working so hard you’re wishing your time away! As usual a pithy, pertinent and pointed blog …