Councillors and MPs to discuss high speed rail plans in Stoke-on-Trent

I attended the meeting, and I was amazed that it was filled with politicians of both sides of the political divide who are in favor of the HS2 project.

This skewed the debate towards the pro factions who were often heard chanting “here here”. All of the pro speakers mentioned all the fact and figures relating to the economic benefits, and how the people of staffordshire would remain in the backwoods if they were stupid enough to stand against a project thatwas likely to stop wealthy businessmed getting from Manchester to London 20 mins faster than they do today. It will only cost 34 billion pounds, which we will have to borrow increasing the debt, but it apparently is such a shining example of engineering excellence that htese lovely comfy trains will make the country run better and it will become more prosperous.

If you believe that load of old tosh then you may be a little soft in the head. This project is being discussed by a government that daily tells us that £112 million pounds is being paid out each day to cover our current debt, cuts to disabled benefits, slashing housing benefits, hospital beds, public services, we have never been so poor. Hold on though lets build a big railway that will cheer the country up a bit and create jobs. Well a faster way of doing it would be to give a billion pounds to the 34 largest cities in the country to spend on creating jobs, and businesses will surely benefit from that.

London, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Newcastle, Leeds, Edinburgh, and Glasgow all have one thing in common apart from the proposed link to HS2/3. They all have an airport, why not spend 34 billion on engineering and designing a new internal and international eco friendly air route for freight and passengers, why is the question only framed within the high speed “rail” why not high speed AIR, and build an airport in stoke or stafford if you want to spend a few million in the area.

The capacity issue is also a nonsense, they say the trains are full, but they are only at peak times, longer trains and improvements to platforms would cure this, as would the improvement of sea and air freight to get lorries off the roads. If we mush spend the cash lets improve what we have not rip a gash of misery through the country side blighting the lives of a milllion people along the route.

Staffordshire will not have a stop here because if we do you will loose the extra 20 mins saving due to the slowing down, the stop and the speeding up of the train, so for those endless councillors who will sell the people of Staffordshire down the pan on this one, scrabbling in the gutter for a “Station” handout from the government, weakly giving up to the supposed inevitability of the project; I say shame on all of you that you do not have the gumption to save our beautiful county from this white elephant.

Staffordshire will ultimately have all the pain for generations to come and no gain. History will prove your support for the project as a tragic miscalculation, as Staffordshire is once again sold down the river and bypassed.

My own community in Colwich, Little Haywood, Great Haywood, and Hixon, will be blighted uniquely, sandwiched between the West Coast main line, A51 and the HS2 route all within Yards of each other.

I ask the good minded people of Staffordshire to reject this project and ask all elected members of any party to verbally and physically oppose this deeply flawed project.

Thank you for reading this

Kind Regards

Rolfe