HM Government on-line e-petition

Your opportunity to add your name to a new anti HS2 petition which is on HM Government new e-petition site. This petition has just been launched and we need to drive it onwards and upwards by adding our names to it and telling everyone that we know, wherever they are, that they can add their names too


It does not matter how many other petitions your name is already on - it needs to be on this one!  Why not do it now and take the time to send an e-mail to everyone that you know. Thank you


http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/353

OUR BIGGEST DANGER IS LAZINESS AND APATHY. If people do not think, or cannot be bothered to look, they will start another anti HS2 petition and dilute the first one - we want to end up with one petition with 100,000 signatures, not 100,000 petitions each with one signature. How many people have you heard suggest that HS2 will not happen because of the latest wave of world financial problems? Maybe the international financial crisis will stop HS2 but, in the meantime, I am going to try to get as many people to add their names to the e-petition as I can - I hope you will too.


Remember to pass this exact link on, probably by email, to all those that you think you can get to add their names to this important petition


http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/353




Many people in Lichfield, Whittington, Kings Bromley, Alrewas, Middleton, Hints, Tamworth, Freeford area are against HS2 high-speed trains - why not join a local action groups and fight to stop HS2.

Stop whingeing all you students, teachers, nurses. Someone’s got to pay for HS2

Stop whingeing all you students, teachers, nurses. Someone’s got to pay for HS2.

It is almost beyond belief that all the above are so busy whingeing that they fail to see the obvious.  Consign HS2 to the bin and do something sensible with the money

http://www.lichfieldagainsthighspeedtrains.org.uk/Government%20Gazette%20Ad%20Final.pdf

Central News poll - opportunity to register your view

If you have a Facebook account, you can make it clear whether or not you support HS2

https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=question&id=10150194414094035&qa_ref=qd

Once you have logged your vote, why not post the link on to your FB page and then send the link to all your friends - does not take long and you could be helping to stop this dreadful idiocy.

Thank you

The cost of tragedy

Heard on radio 4 news on the morning of 28th February 2011

The prime minister of New Zealand estimates the total financial cost of the recent earthquake, which destroyed large parts of Christchurch and which killed many people, at £9b. Our thoughts are with all those who have suffered.

The lowest general estimate for the first part of HS2 is £17b

WHY SUPER-FAST RAIL SERVICE HAS TO BE DERAILED

It is worth reminding ourselves that our opposition to HS2 high-speed rail is not simply emotional or nimbyistic (if such a word exists). As a side issue, what is wrong with feeling strongly against something which directly affects you?  A recent article by Christian Wolmar reminds us of the stupidity of the assumptions made on cost savings in the Government's "Business Case" -

"Let’s look at the economic argument. This is based on a piece of mumbo-jumbo called a “business case” which actually falls apart as soon as it is examined. The Government says the £17billion cost of the line between London and Birmingham is worth it because it will attract more than twice that amount in  “benefits”.

What are these benefits? They are not for the most part fares income but rather the small savings made by people using the line. These account for nearly £20billion of the supposed £32billion benefits and are calculated on the basis that the value of these travellers’ time is equivalent to a salary of £70,000 a year. So every minute saved is worth about 50p or £30 an hour, which suggests the promoters think the line will be used mostly by fat-cats.

SUCH “savings” also assume that travel time is wasted. That may be the case in a car, where even making a hands-free call can be unwise, but a train with internet access and laptops can be a wonderful working environment."

Well worth reading the rest of what Christian Wolmar says by clicking:

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/231438

Mr Hammond - we are NOT nimbys

Difficult for our transport secretary to speak without accusing opponents of HS2 of either lacking vision or of living along the proposed route.

Firstly, there is nothing basically wrong with being concerned about one's own environment.  Secondly, most people who want to stop HS2 near their homes also want to stop HS2 completely. . . and thirdly, Mr Hammond, you know full well that there has been no great effort by HS2 or the government to bring this to the attention of the country; a few people along the proposed route found out and, fortunately, made great efforts to bring it to the attention of the rest of us - not surprisingly, the main efforts were made to inform people along the proposed line.  When you, Mr Hammond, make comments that it is mainly people along the proposed line complaining, you surely realise that it is both a cheap shot and also that you are responsible for not having informed the population.  Many of us (probably most of us) are not as stupid as you would like to think.

NOW WARWICKSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL SAY NO TO HS2

Now Warwickshire County Council say NO to HS2

http://www.middletonpc.co.uk/files/WARWICKSHIRE%20COUNTY%20COUNCIL%20UNANIMOUSLY%20OPPOSE%20HS2.pdf

Locally, Staffordshire and Northamptonshire County Councils and Coventry City Council and now Warwickshire County Council have made their position clear and unequivocal:

Messrs Cameron and Hammond - the message is clear - the voters DO NOT WANT HS2 TO GO AHEAD.  How much clearer do you need the voters to be?
NO to HS2

COVENTRY CITY REJECT HS2

Unanimous rejection of HS2 by Coventry City  CLICK HERE and the government think they can ignore all this and carry on as they choose? We are a democracy and if enough of us say "STOP HS2" then, whether they like it or not, they have to listen. Have you added your name to the on-line petition yet?  You have, good . . have you asked all your friends to do the same? We cannot just sit back, we have to make it NOT happen.  http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/stop-hs2/sign.html 

Keep UK running for the next century or build HS2?

I am sure that there was an article on the news last night which said (I apologise for errors, please do correct me) that a one off expenditure of £1.4b followed by annual expenditure of £0.48b would avoid us all having the problems caused by road, rail and air not being able to function whenever we have a severe cold spell or a bit of snow.

There are many estimates of the cost of high-speed rail line flying around, confused by whether the sums are for HS2 or the full array of HS's (HS2, HS3, HS4, HS5, HS6, HS7, HS8, HS9 and who knows how many more Horribly Stupid schemes) but I do not think too many will argue with the following calculation:  100 x 0.48 = 48 plus 1.4 = 49.40 which is surely less than the final total cost of this crazy High-speed rail line vanity project.  Lets face it, the benefits are more obvious - did I hear that it was estimated that the true cost of the disruption caused by recent weather ran at about £1b a day.

Update from Stophs2

See the latest news from Stophs2
http://stophs2.org/news/:/stophs2.org/category/news/

LEAF ON LINE STOP HIGH-SPEED TRAIN?

Will a leaf on the line stop a high-speed train? If it is the wrong sort of leaf, I guess that there is a good chance.  Of course, if it is the wrong sort of leaf AND it is a frozen leaf then, being the UK, we can guess the probable answer.  Any bets?

Pace gathers against HS2

Very Interesting . . . three links with some interesting reading

 

ONE 

TWO     

THREE

DfT suggest that Lichfield is an area of no particular note!

It says on Page 13 of The appraisal of sustainability non technical summary "Impacts on townscape are generally avoided and few areas of particular note would be affected". No mention of Lichfield which must therefore be an area of no particular note.  I wonder if Lichfield residents agree with that - I don't!

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/pi/highspeedrail/hs2ltd/appraisalofsustainability/pdf/summary.pdf  

Have HS2 got their figures wrong - read and decide!

Have HS2 got their figures all wrong?  You decide . . read this informed article at
http://www.bluespacethinking.com/assets/user/BST%20Transport%20Select%20Committee%20Submission%20Oct%202010.pdf

and then, if you agree that this HS2 high speed train high speed money drain 300 mile blight path of misery across our glorious England should be stopped (especially if you do not want to pay for it, which you will, like it or not UNLESS IT IS STOPPED) please add your name to the on line petition (take you only a couple of ticks or so) by clicking below

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/stop-hs2/sign.html

Stop HS2