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Paul Bigland

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Paul Bigland

Monthly Archives: January 2018

The stop Hs2 campaign’s as dead as a Dodo.

31 Wednesday Jan 2018

Posted by Paul Bigland in Anti Hs2 mob, Hs2, Rail Investment, Rail Moderinsation, StopHs2

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Hs2, Railways, StopHs2

As expected, yesterday’s vote on the 2nd reading of the Hs2 Hybrid bill for phase 2a from the West Midlands to Crewe was (to put it mildly) a walkover. The bill passed with a crushing result of 295 Ayes and just 12 Noes. 12! Remember that 41 MPs voted against phase 1 of Hs2, which shows how much the anti campaign’s collapsed. Many of the usual suspects (Chery Gillan and Michael Fabricant being the most prominent) voted no but some familiar names abstained, including Labour’s Kelvin Hopkins, Barry Sheerman, Dennis Skinner and Kier Starmer. This was despite Sheerman speaking during the debate and saying how much he opposed Hs2 – but not enough to vote against it, which makes him as much use as a chocolate fireguard! What’s interesting is how all the usual Labour antis abstained this time but Sir Kevin Barron, the MP for Rother Valley voted (for the first time) against Hs2. This suggests to me that the Labour Party hierarchy gave him a free pass as his is the only constituency on the phase 2 route to Leeds that has any real opposition to Hs2. When I crunched the numbers this morning 1382 constituents had signed the Stop Hs2 petition. That’s still only 1.46% of course, but the nearest to it is Bolsover with a measly 0.43%!

In another twist, the antis favourite Tory leadership candidate (who was supposed to oppose Hs2), Jacob Rees Mogg actually voted for it! Not only Mogg did a volte face. So did seven other MPs from the 41 who’d voted against Phase 1. They were;

Steve Baker (High Wycombe)

Bob Blackman (Harrow Est)

Peter Bone (Wellingborough)

Chris Chope (Christchurch)

Mark Pawsey (Rugby)

Chris Pincher (Tamworth)

John Redwood (Wokingham)

What happened politically was the Labour party abstained, knowing full well the Tory’s had the numbers to carry the bill through with a large majority without them – although 13 Labour MPs (many of whom have held transport briefs) did support the bill. There were some interesting patterns too, all of the 13 MPs on the remaining Phase 2 route to Manchester abstained, as did 14 of the 22 on the phase 2 route to Leeds, whilst 6 voted yes and only 2 no.

Of course Stophs2 tried some desperate spin, whinging that over half of MPs were absent or abstained, but this ‘look over there’ tactic couldn’t hide the fact many of those abstaining were their suporters!

Worse was to come when it became evident that some MPs targeted by ‘action’ groups in Yorkshire & Derbyshire had voted to build the line. Broxtowe’s Anna Soubry and Erqewash’s Maggie Throup being examples! Whilst articulating their constituents concerns it was obvious neither MP was afraid of the tiny but noisy anti Hs2 ‘action’ groups in their constituencies. Both MPs know more constituents will benefit from the opportunities Hs2 will bring rather than suffer.

This leaves the Stop Hs2 campaign as dead as a dodo. Nationally, it’s disintegrated. Hs2 Action Alliance gave up years ago and the ‘Joe & Penny’ show (aka StopHs2) is a joke with Rukin increasingly absent. Essentially, it’s Penny whinging about Hs2 via the internet from her home in Bournemouth!

It’s obvious the local action groups attempts to frighten MPs into supporting them have either failed or backfired, which really does beg the question – what’s the point anymore?

Phase 2a is now a done deal. Nothing short of a miracle can stop its progress to Royal Assent despite the fantasy beliefs of of a few antis who don’t understand the Parliamentary process on Hybrid bills. What’s crystal clear is that cross party support for Hs2 is as stong as ever. Unless this breaks down…Another sign of their failure is the fact only 188 petitions have been received on Phase 2a. Contrast that with the 1,925 which were received in a futile attempt to bog down Phase 1. I’ve blogged about the 188 received here.

The only lobbying of MPs is being done by the local ‘action’ groups but tactically they’re inept. In many cases ‘lobbying’ means trying to throw their non-existant weight around and blustering rather than admitting that they can’t stop Hs2 & focussing on discussing compensation and mitigation instead.

From some of the posturing and levels of denial I’ve seen on Twitter today it’s clear the penny hasn’t dropped with some antis yet. For some it never will. This presents the remaining ‘action’ groups with a problem. Either they ditch these people or the ship goes down with all hands. Will there now be an outbreak of common-sense on the phase 2 route to Leeds (the only one left with active groups)?

Whatever way, it’s obvious the national StopHs2 campaign exists in name only.

London calling…

30 Tuesday Jan 2018

Posted by Paul Bigland in I love my job, London, Rail Investment, Transport, Travel

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I love my job, London, Rail Investment, Travel

Despite having plenty to blog about the one thing I haven’t had is time. I’m 2/3 through my commission in private residential old people’s homes in North London and it’s absorbed nearly all my time, but here’s a quick update.

As expected, it’s been a fascinating couple of days. The staff at the two homes I’ve visited have been inspiring. The level of care and attention they give to residents (who all have different needs and levels of support) is bloody hard work. It’s not a job for the casual or the faint-hearted. I’ve also met some lovely residents and heard their stories. The whole experience has been uplifting  – if sometimes sad when you see the ravages of dementia on people who obviously shone before the onset of such a cruel disease.

I’ve also reacquainted myself with commuting across London by public transport. It’s not something have had to do for a long time. When I lived in North London but worked in the East my daily commute was by bicycle. It was the same when I did relief shifts on newspapers based at Canary Wharf. Once I turned to photography my commute was never normally to the same place more than two days in a row.

Since those days London’s population’s grown – as has the number of people commuting in. Today I was using Thameslink services from Herne Hill to Kentish Town & expecting that the new 8-car Siemens Class 700s might have provided a bit of breathing space compared to the Class 319s they’d replaced. Not a bit of it. The trains were rammed – despite all the extra space they provide. It was like being on the tube! It was the same with 12 car trains I saw passing through. Now, these trains are people movers. The 8 cars can carry 1146 and the 12’s take 1754 souls. If they’re already full it’s clear the full 24tph timetable through the Thameslink core can’t come soon enough…

20180130_083008_001

Despite the fact this thing’s a real people-mover and there’s several an hour, I had to flag the first two as I just couldn’t squeeze on. This was 3rd time lucky.

 

Going back to my roots…

28 Sunday Jan 2018

Posted by Paul Bigland in I love my job, London, Photojournalism

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Housing, I love my job, London, Photojournalism

I’m working in London for the next few days and for a change – it’s nothing to do with railways. Instead, I’m going back to old haunts and shades of a former career.

Back in the 1980s-90s before I became a photographer I used to work and live in social housing. In fact, it was the focus of my life. I was a Housing Officer for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets as well as being very much involved in running the tenant management Housing Co-op in which I lived – which went by the name of ‘Wilfrid’ (after one of Beano comic strip Bash St kids). It’s over 20 years ago now as I moved out of the co-op in 1996 and left housing in 1997 but I always maintained an interest in the sector – helped by the fact my ex-wife worked for various charities at the time, including Homeless Network and the Big Issue. I look back on those days with fondness and treasure a lot of the memories. The stories that I could tell…

For the next three days I’m looking forward to combining my love of photography and interest in housing as I have a commission to take pictures in a trio of private homes for the elderly in North London. I suspect I’m going to meet some fascinating people and hear some interesting stories in the process.

I wish West Yorkshire was flat…

25 Thursday Jan 2018

Posted by Paul Bigland in Charities, Ride India, The Railway Children

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Charities, Cycling, Ride India, The Railway Children

Well, sometimes anyways, like when I’m walking back up the hill to where we live from Sowerby Bridge station and I’ve got a 13kg camera bag on my back. Or today, when I was training for my charity cycle ride In India!

Despite the weather forecast and the ominous looking clouds over the horizon I headed out on a training session this afternoon. Instead of taking the easy option of cycling miles along the towpath of the Calder and Hebble canal towards Brighouse I fancied something more ambitious – and strenuous. Besides, I’d had the excitement of a bank robbery last time so scenery rather than police cars seemed like a good option. My wife had suggested I cycle some of the route the tour-de-France took when it came here in 2014, which seemed like a plan. I’m neither fit enough or daft enough to do what they did, so I took the route in reverse…

We live high up on the side of the Calder Valley which means my route down into Sowerby Bridge is a breeze – it’s all downhill! But after that I was on a (mostly) steady climb along the Rochdale Rd to Ripponden. It’s not a bad road but it’s busy as it’s used by a lot of traffic heading out to the M62 so you have to keep a wary eye out for HGVs as they thunder past you. This changes as soon as you start climbing out of Ripponden on the A58 – it’s pretty much deserted – which is great as it’s a long old slog. You climb 810 feet in 4.4.miles. The first part’s the hardest as it’s the steepest but it didn’t get much easier today due to the fact I had to fight a cold headwind. It’s actually a really attractive ride as you’re very much out in the wilds. On the way I stopped off to admire the views from the dam on the Baitings reservoir. It was only when I was on the parapet that I appreciated just how bloody cold the wind was, so I didn’t hang around after the obligatory training selfie!

20180125_132404_002

Windswept, but interesting…

After the reservoir the climb get harder as you gain another 364 feet in 1.8 miles. At this point you’re really exposed to the wind as its open moorland and there’s no trees – only electricity pylons! It was a relief to crest the ridge and sight Blackstone Edge reservoir, where Turvin Rd branches off to the right along the reservoir edge.

If you keep on going at this point, you’ll be in Rochdale in another 7 miles, but today I was heading for Cragg Vale. This is the longest continuous ascent in the UK if you’re going in the opposite direction. You gain 945 feet in 5.7 miles. Maybe one day, when I’m fit enough, I’ll try it, right now I’m just happy to freewheel down it! The road starts high up on the moorland before following the East side of the valley, twisting and turning through the picturesque village of Cragg Vale. You can hit some impressive speeds but you have to be wary of road conditions unless you want to be going arse over tit at 35mph or more…

The beauty of cycling the road on a weekday is you won’t encounter much traffic or many cyclists. At weekends it’s very different because of the Tour de France connections and the fact there’s a cracking community run pub in Cragg Vale called the Robin Hood. Dawn and I often walk to it for lunch at weekends, but today I (regretfully) whizzed past as the rain was chasing me – and it was beginning to win…

Once in Mytholmroyd I opted to cycle along the main A646 Burnley road back towards Sowerby. I’d hoped to have stayed out longer and headed for Hebden Bridge but the rain changed my mind. I had the option of cycling along the canal from here but the towpath is a bit of a quagmire in parts which is a shame as the Burnley Rd’s narrow, knackered and very busy. Swerving around potholes can be a dangerous business when you’ve got an HGV up your backside, but I stuck it out as far as Luddenden Foot where the canal towpath improves. Mind you, there’s another reason to abandon the Burnley Rd here, it begins another 200ft climb whereas the canal is level and HGV free, so it’s a much nicer 1.5 mile return to Sowerby Bridge!

Back in the Bridge I paid a brief visit to see some old friends who run the Jubilee Refreshment rooms on the station, have a swift pint (which I felt I’d earned) and get warm before attempting the last couple of miles home. The only drawback on this section is there’s a bloody fierce cobbled hill where I make no excuses for dismounting. I rather like my skeletal arrangements and have no wish to change the order by cycling up cobbles!

Despite having to cut the trip short I’d enjoyed it. I can feel my stamina improving each trip. West Yorkshire may not be flat, but where we’ll be cycling in Rajasthan, India is – so this this hill training should stand me in good stead.

If you’d like to sponsor me and help me to help the Railway Children, please, click on this link. If you want to learn more about the trip we’re doing click on this link.  If you want to learn about the work the Railway Children does around the world, click on this link.

Many thanks,

Paul

The writing’s on the wall for the Calder Valley’s last two remaining signal boxes.

24 Wednesday Jan 2018

Posted by Paul Bigland in Calder Valley, Rail Investment, Signalling

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Whilst waiting for my train at Sowerby Bridge the other day I noticed this new signal had appeared on the Up Main.DG288534. New signalpost. Sowerby Bridge. 19.1.18.

If you’ll pardon the pun, it’s signalling more than trains – it’s signalling the end of absolute block working between Hebden Bridge and Milner Royd Junction, the last remaining patch of AB working on the Calder valley route in 2018. Both signal boxes are due for closure in the autumn. The future of Milner Royd (one of only two surviving Smith and Yardley boxes) is uncertain, but Hebden Bridge, (built by the Railway Signal Co) is a grade 2 listed building so will survive. Here’s a couple of pictures of the boxes concerned. Photograph them whilst you can!

07070. Hebden Bridge SB. 7.8.99.

Hebden Bridge Signal Box was built by the Railway Signal Co to a standard design in 1898. It contains a 38 lever frame and L&Y block instruments.

DG19303. Milner Royd Junction signalbox. 17.10.08.

Built in 1878. Milner Royd signal box contains a 20 lever Railway Signal Co frame and L&Y block instruments

Two other boxes are also due to close, although neither are actually in the Calder Valley. They’re Halifax and Mill Lane, Bradford. Two other boxes have already closed this month. Huddersfield and Healy Mills functions have been transferred to York ROC.

Welcome to the wild West – Yorkshire…

23 Tuesday Jan 2018

Posted by Paul Bigland in Brighouse, Law and order, West Yorkshire

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Brighouse, Law and order, West Yorkshire

There was me minding my own business, out training for my charity cycle ride (more of which later) when a squadron of police cars passed me on the road to Brighouse. It’s not an uncommon event in this part of the world. Normally it’s to do with a domestic, drunken brawl or the M62 being stuffed up. However, the presence of the West Yorks police helicopter, circling Brighouse town centre made me think something a little more serious may be afoot.

Sur enough, when I dodged the lines of traffic to get into the town centre I found what looked like a movie set. Police tape aplenty around a square outside a bank, with platoons of police, a brace of ambulances and a pair of fire engines. On the edge of the tape were a few dozen locals who seemed glad of the diversion! On enquiring I was told it was the aftermath of a bank robbery which may, or may not, have involved acid.

I thought bank robbery had been consigned to history in the 21st century due to all the modern technological advances. But then this IS West Yorkshire, which is in many ways firmly embedded in a different age still.

Bank robbery being part of that it would seem…

Hs2 to Crewe – radio silence from Stop Hs2.

23 Tuesday Jan 2018

Posted by Paul Bigland in Anti Hs2 mob, Hs2 to Crewe, StopHs2

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Hs2, Hs2 to Crewe, Parliament, StopHs2

Five days ago the Parliamentary timetable was announced for the 2nd reading of the  Hs2 Phase 2a Hybrid Bill from the W Midlands to Crewe. This is the most important Parliamentary event since 2014 when  the Phase 1 Hybrid Bill passed its second reading with a stonking majority of 411. 2nd reading is Parliament’s seal of approval on Phase 2a. If the bill passes, then Parliament is stating its intention that the line to Crewe will be built. 3rd reading and Royal Assent will follow almost automatically.

This means that the 30th is a crucial day for those opposed to building Hs2, especially those living on the phase 2a route. 2nd reading’s a week today (next Tuesday), so what are supposed ‘national’ group Stop Hs2 doing about it? Completely ignoring it – that’s what! Anyone relying on Stop Hs2 for news wouldn’t have a clue it’s even happening as there’s been no mention on their website, Facebook page or Twitter feed! It’s as if it doesn’t exist – which speaks volumes about the collapse of the Stop Hs2 campaign. The day Parliament made the announcement the only ‘news’ on the Stop Hs2 website was about a Euston Vicar chained to a tree. Talk about a sideshow!

The fact Stop Hs2 have ignored the real story says everything. Essentially, they’ve given up. They’ve changed from actively trying to stop Hs2 to doing nothing but moan about Hs2. Mind you, they’re not even doing much of that. They’re very much a part-time organisation who disappear for days – as the gaps on the website and social media accounts demonstrate. There’s no active campaigning going on anymore – as completely ignoring phase 2a shows. In the ‘old days’ StopH2 would have been organising demonstrations, encouraging people to respond to the petitioning process, publishing info for them to use etc, now? There’s nothing. It’s hardly surprising. StopH2 is two people, Chair Penny Gaines who now lives down in the SouthWest and ‘Campaign Manager’ Jo Rukin. Whilst he looks for a proper job Rukin’s reduced to a retweeting service for any old rubbish on the #hs2 hashtag or making up outrageous porkies for his rare posts on their website. Gaines is just as bad.

It’s the same on the ground. Here’s the latest Stop Hs2 petition results for phase 2a.

phase 2 a

Not a single area has managed even half of 1% of constituents signing. Not exactly constituencies up in arms, are they? I’ve had a look through social media to see what action there is from any remaining ‘action’ groups on the route. The answer? Bugger all.

Here’s ‘Lichfield against Hs2’ Facebook page. It’s been derelict since September 2017. A grand total of 172 followed it. Of course, Lichfield’s MP, Michael Fabricant is a high-profile StopHs2 supporter but he’s very much in a minority. He’s good at gesture politics and self-publicity but he’s essentially powerless when it comes to trying to stop Hs2.

The villages of Whitmore and Madeley have a joint Facebook page which has been updated. Are they going to protest about the bill, perhaps rally in London? No. They’re going to have a meeting about it AFTER the bill passes 2nd reading! They’re not campaigning to stop Hs2, they’re campaigning for a longer, deeper tunnel.

The Tamworth ‘action’ group have a website that’s been derelict since March 2012! I can’t find anything else more recent.

I can find no sign of an ‘action’ group in Stone, although the local Tory MP, Sir Bill Cash does oppose Hs2. There’s no sign of organised grassroots opposition.

Staffordshire as a county has no organised opposition on the ground either. That collapsed years ago due to in-fighting as it was dominated by eccentrics who were using it to further their personal aggrandisement or UKIP agendas rather than as a serious Stop Hs2 campaign (see Trevor Forrester!)

As for Crewe – forget it. The opposition to Hs2 in the town was always politically led by either UKIP or the Greens. Now UKIP is a disaster area and the Greens are in a parlous state in the polls. In contrast, the Local Enterprise Partnership and politicians are strongly in favour of Hs2.

If anyone knows of any other groups, Facebooks pages of websites that should be included here – please, let me know.

If this is a look at the health of the StopHs2 campaign, the only diagnosis is that it’s terminal. The ‘national’ group is completely irrelevant now, but then it was always a national group in name only. Like Hs2aa and AGAHST, it was really all about phase 1. When it was clear that couldn’t be stopped, the writing was on the wall.

UPDATE: 26th January.

Yesterday StopHs2 finally had to admit that the Phase 2a Hybrid Bill would get its second reading on Tuesday. Penny Gaines (Joe Rukin still having gone missing) posted this dollop of recycled nonsense on their website. It tacitly admits defeat. There’s no call to arms, no demonstrations organised, no suggestions on what people should do to oppose the bill – nothing – just a whinge with a few porkies thrown in. Gaines makes the usual allegations that Hs2 is ‘late’. Whilst it’s true the timetable for the initial stages has slipped, the opening dates haven’t – she also completely ignores the fact the opening date for phase 2a has been brought forward from 2033 to 2027. That’s 6 years early!

Gaines says she and Rukin will be ‘live tweeting’ on the day. In other words, She’ll be sat at home in Bournemouth & Rukin in Kenilworth and they’ll have a whinge about the bill passing on Twitter. That’s what their ‘campaign’ is reduced to. It’s powerless, toothless and pointless. It exists as a ‘campaign’ in name only. It’s as much a campaign as an old bloke in a pub moaning about the world.

Stop Hs2 is dead.

 

UKIP. Schadenfreude’s such a lovely word!

21 Sunday Jan 2018

Posted by Paul Bigland in Politics, StopHs2, The Green Party, UKIP

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Politics, StopHs2, The Green Party, UKIP

I can’t help but look upon the imminent demise of UKIP without a certain frisson of pleasure. A party that’s done more to ruin the UK’s reputation abroad and helped deliver the shambles that is Brexit is about to get its come-uppance – as blogger Tim Fenton mentioned today.

Ukip’s most recent accounts show it was £380,630 in debt before the 2017 election which weakened the party’s finances even further. The party’s so skint it can’t even put up candidates in local elections. The parlous state of the party’s finance have been the subject of infighting in the past and an open secret amongst members (link).

Now UKIP can’t afford another leadership election, which might save the skin of the latest temprorary Leader (the 4th in 15 months), Henry Boulton, despite the revelations about his openly racist girlfriend – Jo Marney. Jo’s provided social media with an open goal, so I make no apologies for sharing this pic of the couple caught together on the London Underground after their supposed ‘split’. Oh, and the Twitter commentary from Scott Ballantyne is inspired!

human

Meanwhile, former UKIP leader Nigel Farage has got himself embroiled in the murky world of American politics, Trump, Assange and Russia…(link). There’s no chance of him riding to UKIPs rescue as there no money in it for him anymore which leaves the party stuffed. Even MEPs and some of the remaining local Councillors are jumping ship. John Arnott, the MEP  for the North East of England, said he had lost confidence in Mr Bolton but thought no better of those “jockeying” to replace him.

Here’s a list of recent desertions, with links. Arnott

All 3 Plymouth Cllrs quit

All 5 Hartlepool Cllrs quit

Will the last one to leave please turn out the lights?

Of course, UKIPs collapse spells even more trouble for another bête noire of mine, the Stop Hs2 campaign!

I’ve not seen any evidence that UKIP helped the campaign financially or practically, other then lending it support via social media & having members who had a foot in both camps. But UKIP did help draw attention to the campaign. Their opposition to Hs2 was nothing more than a cynical ploy to attract votes from disaffected Tories who lived on the HS2 route. The problem was that the Stop Hs2 campaign had always exaggerated how much support it had, so the avalanche of votes UKIP hoped for never materialised – even in the Chilterns, which was the ‘hotbed’ of anti Hs2 activity. They gained (and then lost) a couple of Council seats but never seriously threatened to unseat any MPs.

UKIPs demise will leave the Greens as the only party opposing Hs2 – and they’ve got their own problems as their standing in the polls and share of the vote in recent local elections has fallen dramatically. As an illustration of both parties troubles, here’s three local election results from Thursday.

green results

We live in interesting times…

Update: 22 Jan.

UKIPs National Executive Committee met yesterday and passed a motion of no-confidence in Bolton. Bolton refuses to resign, so now a ballot of the (remaining)members will take place. Meanwhile, social media has been kept amused by today’s antics as a series of UKIP ‘Front Benchers’ no-one’s ever heard of have resigned. Ds anyone even *know* UKIP had a spokesperson on Culture? Or Intelligence?  But the biggest ‘pot calling kettle black’ moment came from Neil Hamilton, disgraced former Tory MP, ex-jailbird & now UKIPs leader in Wales, who told the BBC;

“He’s made himself into a ludicrous figure by his own poor judgement and he should get out of the way and allow us to get on with rebuilding the party.”

They’re beyond parody!

Hs2 protests? Twyford Down they ain’t…

20 Saturday Jan 2018

Posted by Paul Bigland in Anti Hs2 mob, Harvil Rd Hs2 protest, Hs2, StopHs2, The Green Party

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Anti Hs2 mob, Harvil Rd Hs2 protest, Hs2, The Green Party

I’m puzzled. The anti Hs2 mob have always sworn blind that they’re the majority. That (depending on which clickbait poll you care to read) the whole country is united  in opposition to Hs2. It’s been the one single message that’s run through their campaign like the lettering in a stick of rock. Everybody opposes Hs2…

OK, so let’s bin the clickbait polls and the posturing, cut through the crap and look at reality. Let’s crunch some real numbers and look at events on the ground.

For a start, how many people live in the 63 constituencies that Hs2 passes through? According to the Government website Hs2 antis often use for their petitions, that’s 6,567,433 people. Yep, over 6.5 MILLION – hardly an insignificant number. So, first question. If that’s the case, why’ve less than 0.37% of them signed the latest Stophs2 petition? I’m typing this at 12:53 on a Saturday. Here’s the score on the door as I do. 24,814 – out of 6.5m

petition 20 jan

In fact, the position’s worse than that total suggests. 24814 is the total nationally, it includes the 3 received from the Orkneys & Shetland (where Hs2 is obviously a burning issue and dominating the inbox of the local MP). It also includes 2 signatures from Mid Ulster, another area which is clearly vexed about Hs2. So, what’s the real total for the 63 constituencies? I crunched the numbers yesterday. Here they are.

numbers

Having taken out all the signatures from constituencies away from the route we’re left with the fact that just 0.21% of people living on the route of Hs2 have signed the Stop H2 petition! 0.2%! So much for the strength of the support Stop Hs2 claim. But then this is what happens when you look beyond the hype to the real numbers.

It’s the same when you look at the campaign on the ground. They used to hold annual conventions, the last one was at The Staffordshire showground in June 2013. Their last national rally was in April 2014, the day Parliament passed the Phase 1 bill with a stonking majority of 411. Less than 100 demonstrators countrywide turned up.

DG177046. Anti Hs2 demo. Westminster. London. 28.4.14.

Now the focus has switched to ‘direct action’ to prevent Hs2 being built. Apart from the fact this is a tacit admittance of their failure, it’s also proved to be a huge embarrassment due to the miserly turnout. Take Euston as an example. On the 12th January a local Vicar and another protester chained themselves to a tree in Euston Gardens. How many protesters were there? Less than the number of media who turned out to watch! (link).

Now this was central London and a borough that the protesters tell you is dead set against Hs2? So where are they all? One of the people interviewed, Keri Brennan is from  Hillingdon, not Camden! Stophs2 should have had hundreds of people here, but they didn’t. Why? Because most people have given up. What you see in the TV interviews are the same few faces.

It was the same a few days later when the gardens were closed. How many demonstrators staged a sit-down protest? THREE.

Havkman

This is Camden (pop 143,242) and this is the best they can do? One of them is from Hillingdon!

If this is the best they can do it really is laughable! If they can’t get people to turn up in central London then they really are in trouble. Meanwhile, what about that other protest in Harvil Rd in Hillingdon? It’s no better there. Harvil Rd has been organised by Hillingdon Green party. One of the stalwarts of the Harvil Rd protest is a woman called Sarah Brooks. Wait a minute, Sarah, that name sounds familiar? Yep, it’s the same Sarah who was at Euston in the pic above. There’s so few people involved that they have to be shared between protests!

sarah

Harvil Rd isn’t exactly a hotbed of protest either. They have a small camp opposite the site entrance and occasionally make a nuisance of themselves by climbing on heavy plant or blocking the site entrance. Here’s an example.

Harvil Rd 2

Not exactly the Twyford Down protests, is it?

Corralled behind those barriers are a grand total of FOUR protesters! Hs2 Ltd have announce that they’re seeking a High Court order to restrain the protesters. They’ve named SEVEN people in it – that’s all the regulars involved! Here’s another view produced by the protesters themselves that includes a plea for extra people to join them.

Harvil Rd.

In the video on the left hand side is another familiar face. The ‘spokesman’ for Hillingdon Green party, Mark Kier, who produced this load of tosh back in December. I mean, come on folks! This isn’t exactly on the scale of the Twyford Down or the M11 link road protests is it? This is their problem. The anti Hs2 groups have always written cheques they can’t cash. They’ve always pretended that they have more public support then they had. Sadly, the national media has always swallowed their claims without questioning them. This blog doesn’t. It was the same when the Hs2 plus report was launched in Manchester in 2014. None of the handful of demonstrators  outside was from Manchester (which doesn’t have a single StopHs2 group in the whole of the city), they were all from Cheshire!

DG173935. Anti Hs2 protest. Manchester. 17.3.14

If Greater Manchester says ‘No’ to Hs2, why a you lot all from Mid-Cheshire then, you lying toads?

Of course all this is a sideshow. Hs2 Phase 1 is under construction. On the 30th January the spotlight shifts and the Hybrid Bill for the next phase of HS2 – the section from Birmingham to Crewe will get its second reading in Parliament. It would take a miracle for the bill not to pass as Hs2 has always had cross-party support. A fact that makes these futile protests look even more pointless.

UPDATE: 9th February 2018.

As expected, the Phase 2 a Hybrid bill sailed through by 295 votes to 12. There wasn’t a single stophs2 protester outside Parliament that day. Meanwhile, the Harvil Rd protest has faded away and attracts little attention or support. It’s the same at Euston where the removal of trees in Euston Square gardens resulted in a protest from just a handful of people;

 

camden 6 feb

Over 143,000 people live in Camden but this is the best anti Hs2 protesters could do.

 

Meanwhile, StopHs2, the sole remaining ‘national’ campaign group hasn’t been heard from all month (apart from a couple of retweets on twitter). It’s website hasn’t been updated since January. Will the last one out please turn off the lights?

 

Hs2 news: Phase 2a to Crewe Hybrid Bill 2nd reading.

18 Thursday Jan 2018

Posted by Paul Bigland in Hs2, Hs2 to Crewe, Parliament, Rail Investment, StopHs2, Transport

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Hs2, Parliament, Rail Investment, StopHs2, Transport

The 2nd reading of the Hs2 Phase 2a West Midlands to Crewe Hybrid Bill has been scheduled for Tuesday 30th January.

phase 2a

A number of important decisions are made at 2nd reading. Firstly, the principles of the bill are established. A debate is held, the length of the petitioning process is decided and finally, the premise of the bill is assured. This final bit means that 2nd reading is regarded as Parliament’s intent. If the bill passes with a large majority (as the phase 1 bill did), Parliament’s intent is very clear. After the Second Reading, there can be no amendment which can destroy the principle of the bill.

In addition to referring a hybrid bill to select committee, the House may also give instructions to the select committee. Instructions can prevent the Hybrid Bill select committee from amending certain provisions or allow it to make alterations to infrastructure provided for in the Bill

After the bill passes 2nd reading the petitioning committee (made up of MPs unconnected with the project) will be established.  The composition of a select committee reflects the party balance in the House. The select committee will mostly sit in a quasi-judicial capacity. It will not be looking at principle or policy; its focus will be restricted to addressing mitigation, compensation and adjustment.

It’s the same after the bill passes the formality of 3rd Reading & goes on to the Lords. The whole petitioning process isn’t rerun, and the Lords will have no power to reject or fundamentally alter the Bill.

So, what does this mean for the Stophs2 campaign? They’re toast! It means the focus has moved away from phase 1 and shifted North. Their campaign’s always been very weak and disorganised on this section. All their national groups were Phase 1 based. There are very few active ‘action’ groups locally. Staffordshire’s is a great example of this, they were always divided by the ‘cult of personality’ as local eccentrics or ‘kippers’ (UKIP supporters) tried to use the issue for their own ends. As UKIP has collapsed and is on the verge of bankruptcy, don’t expect much organised opposition there! The recent Stop Hs2 petition on the Government website is a useful indicator as to the health (or otherwise) of the anti Hs2 campaign in the area. Here’s a spreadsheet from yesterday which has a breakdown of the signatures by constituency. From this it’s easy to see how few active anti Hs2 ‘action groups there are.

revised petition

There will be  number of things to watch out for at 2nd reading, including the size of the majority for the bill, the number of MPs who vote against – and where their constituencies are. After that there’ll be about 3 weeks for people to petition the Committee. The number of petitions will also be of interest, especially as this time electronic submissions will be accepted. For phase 1 petitions actually had to be delivered to Parliament in person.

I wonder if StopHs2 will be organising a rally outside Parliament on the 30th the way they did for 2nd reading of the Phase 1 bill. That was an embarrassment as less than 100 people turned up!

DG177046. Anti Hs2 demo. Westminster. London. 28.4.14.

This was meant to be a national demonstration from all the different phases of Hs2. Remember over 6.5 million people live in constituencies Hs2 will pass through, yet less than 100 people turned up to protest!

If there’s no demonstration this time it will say an awful lot about how far the Stop Hs2 campaign’s collapsed.

 

 

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