New Anti HS2 Group Established

After the Secretary of State's announcement earlier this month to proceed with HS2, I decided to meet with colleagues to discuss how best to go forward with the campaign.

First and foremost I am against this project and will continue to be so because it is a waste of taxpayer's money, will not bring the benefits to the north that are claimed it will, is not environmentally friendly and will take far too long to deliver. I believe there are much better solutions to narrowing the North South and relieving capacity on our railway lines that can be delivered quicker, cheaper and in a more environmentally friendly way.

However, just because I am against this project does not mean that it is not sensible to discuss mitigation and compensation with the Government and HS2 Ltd if they are determined to go ahead with this project. If HS2 does go ahead then many communities are going to be affected but I do not want to see communities destroyed because of unforeseen consequences such as subsidence or social housing being placed in the wrong areas or houses in small communities becoming cut off and isolated.

I want compensation to be fair. If people want to move and can't sell their house then they need to receive compensation regardless of whether they officially qualify for the compensation schemes or not. If the route changes again we need to know what will happen to those homes who have already received a compulsory purchase order and I do not want to see people waiting decades before they see any kind of compensation. A lot of the talk surrounding compensation is regarding homes although we also have to ask questions about what will happen to businesses.

These are questions that were raised at a meeting with MP colleagues today and we urgently need answers to these questions very soon. I will be sending a letter to Justine Greening MP, Secretary of State for Transport that will be jointly signed by other MPs very shortly asking her these questions.

It was also agreed to establish a new group of MPs who are sceptical about this project. The new group will be known as the 'HS2 Compensation and Mitigation Forum' and will meet on a regular basis to discuss campaign ideas and share information. The Secretary of State for Transport, officials from HS2 Ltd and experts who have worked on similar projects will be invited to address the group to answer questions and offer advice.

It is vitally important that we keep up the pressure on the Government and colleagues and I are determined to scrutinise this project closely in every aspect and I hope that this new group will allow us to achieve this.

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