I went to a meeting about HS2 with John Bercow, MP for Buckingham and Speaker of the House of Commons, at the weekend.
HS2 cuts his constituency in two, from just outside Aylesbury to just outside Brackley. It affects huge numbers of the people he is elected to represent, and the Speaker is allowed to have a view on matters which effect his constituency.
He made it clear that not only should his constituents respond to the consultation, but they should make it clear in their responses that they were utterly opposed to the whole project.
He said that his constituents should not be confined by the wording of the questions, which never actually ask whether you think the HS2 project as a whole is a good thing or a bad thing.
He said that his constituents must get over to the Department for Transport what they really think – in his words “this project is unaffordable, environmentally damaging and hugely unpopular”.
So whether you use the online form, or write your response in a letter: follow his advice and make sure you explicitly say the HS2 proposal should be cancelled.