Firstly, if you are in London today (Saturday), please pop in to the Euston Against HS2 Fun Day at St James Garden on Hampstead Road, NW1 from 1pm into the evening. There’ll be lots of great activities there a well as Stop HS2 information.
With party conference season, groups opposed to HS2 are having stalls and fringe events at the party conferences during the Parliamentary recess, to let people know why HS2 is such a bad idea.
Stop HS2 are having stand at the Labour Party Conference in Manchester from 30th September to 4th October: our stand is 126. We are also holding a fringe event at lunchtime on Tuesday 2nd October – “Is HS2 coming off the Rails”. Speakers include Frank Dobson and Christian Wolmar.
At the Libdem conference this week, HS2AA have stand PS80. (Sunday: the stand is buzzing, if you are at the conference, please go along and see what is wrong with HS2).
HS2AA are also having a stand at the Conservtive Party Conference in Birmingham. Their fringe event is “HS2: It’s time to think again” at 8.30 -9.30am on Monday 8th October and speakers include Cheryl Gillan MP and Daniel Hannan MEP.
Well as an outsider to your ongoing conversation, what I notice is that the ‘yes to HS2’ campaign, in whatever form, seems to have neither a stand nor a fringe meeting at the Labour Conference. So either they do not think they will attract anyone; OR big business has not coughed up the funds to support their stand (unlike last year) and they have no mass public backing to raise the funds from ordinary people; OR it looks like they do not feel they have anything to say to Labour politicians and members. Hmmmm.
Begg will be at the conference – but only speaking on air policy …. which seems to nicely clarify that HS2 is a central plank in trying to make Birmingham into another London airport, and it has very little to do with re-balancing the economy or jobs for the North or an imaginary rail capacity crisis etc. Similarly, Frank Dobson yesterday said that the plan to take HS2 to Euston has nothing to do with speedier services for users of HS2 but everything to do with HS2 trying to get their hands on the profits from several massive office developments. It again underlines that gap between the overt case for HS2 and the covert one. It’s good to see that Labour is starting to wake up to what HS2 is really about.
Can you get more than the 150 people this time
Morris
I would remind you that we got over 100,000 signatures on our petition and we are all still fighting hs2 in our own ways
Still waiting for an answer to my question to you re address of a pro hs2 web site I can post on
What a shame did I hit a nerve, when I saw the very small group outside parliament there was no more than 150 people. I call this a very small turn out can you improve on that this time? Yes you got a 100,000 but how long did it take you? (almost 2years) when the virgin bid got this in less than a week.
Please look at the yestohs2 website for the right fact about HS2.
Let see is this comment will be allowed????? I bet not like 99.99999% of all the pro comment.
Thanks for confirming that this is the only site you and i can post our comments
Sorry if you want hs2 for some unstated reason but its not going to happen
his stated reason for wanting hs2 is like mine – we need the capacity and we need to try to get people out of their more polluting planes and cars. there were much bigger demonstartions against the tuition fees and they have gone ahead. i respect you for the number of signatures you got but it is still a very very small percentage of the electorate. it doesnt look to good when you advertise a demo and you are nearly outnumbered by the press ! i am not being sarcastic but i think you have to start thinking that hs2 will go ahead.
Modal shift for borrowing at least £33 billion is pathetic and local bus and rail enhancements would be far more effective as would reducing the need to travel.
We are still waiting for the wcml peak loadings and the data we have been allowed to see does not support the nearly full claims
John very typical you can’t be brother to check the website, there is a comment section. but again this comment will not be allowed.
Morris
First please talk to me politely or don’t bother to speak to me at all
Impossible for me to comment on the site you mentioned as it says—
‘Comments on this blog are restricted to team members’
again can you get more that 150 people, look at this link http://www.bigsmoke.org.uk/?p=139246 how many peole of chairs? less than 5
Just because they’re not there, doesn’t mean they don’t care! If they work they’re at work. If the event means travelling, they may not be able to do, or afford, the journey. If they live far from the line it wouldn’t occur to them to go as they don’t now about it.
Whether there were 1,000 people there or 50,000, would if make any difference? The consultation responses fell on deaf ears and I believe that rallying people are equally unseen by the eyes of the decision makers.
That said – I HAVE TAKEN A DAY’S HOLIDAY AND PAID THE HIGH RAIL FARE TO GET MYSELF OUSIDE PARLIAMENT IN THE POURING RAIN WITH STOP HS2, because I still believe our Members of Parliament need to be more informed before they vote on the Hybrid Bill, and because even a few people with a blown up White Elephant will enlighten passers by of what is currently on their horizon.