Campaigners say too many politicians are ‘ill-informed’ about HS2

Campaigners fighting plans for a high speed rail line say it is “depressing” that politicians are not listening to the evidence.

The first reading of the HS2 Phase One Hybrid Bill will take place on Monday (November 25).

But campaigners say that not enough people in Parliament are fully aware of the facts about the line, which will cut through parts of Lichfield and the surrounding villages.

Members of Stop HS2 – who will be holding a rally in the capital on Monday morning – have also denied claims of NIMBYism about the scheme.

“With the widespread criticism of HS2 from independent bodies, it is quite depressing that MPs and Lords speaking for the project recently are so ill-informed and unwilling to listen to the exceptionally sound arguments which make it clear HS2 should not go ahead,” said Stop HS2’s Joe Rukin.

“On Monday, people from up and down the HS2 route will descend onto Parliament, not to say they don’t want HS2 to come near their homes, but to say that they have studied the plans and justifications for HS2 and that it should be scrapped completely.

“It is sad that people in affected communities know more about HS2 than the majority of Parliamentarians know more about what HS2 means, and we hope to change that.”