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Yet again social media has rather blown up in the faces of those opposed to HS2. This time because of an unguarded comment by one of their own. You may remember they’ve been desperate to talk up the opposition to HS2 on the ground by pretending there’s some sort of groundswell of opposition that’s seen protest camps spring up all over the phase 1 route of HS2. Of course (as usual) the truth is rather different. Students of history may remember the way Allied forces in World War 2 used inflatable models of tanks and aircraft to fool enemy reconnaissance aircraft. Stop Hs2 seemed to be trying the same stunt at Harvil Rd by setting up tents, hoping that people might then assume there were more protesters than there really were. When the Bailiffs arrived to evict the camp they counted over two dozen tents and structures. There was only one problem (for the protestors at least). Sod-all were occupied. How do we know? Firstly, because all the video’s released of the evictions by the protesters show hardly any protestors present. Then this slipped out on Facebook today.
“only seven people were on site”…
Not exactly what you’d call much of a protest, is it? Just seven people, and two of them are the same old names – Mark Kier and Sarah Green. That leaves just five others holding the ‘fort’ (and I use that term loosely) as those two are often away playing silly buggers at stunts/court appearances around London, or when Kier was meant to be election campaigning in Uxbridge!
Considering that Harvil Rd is a stones throw from London, this is the best they can do? Half a dozen people and a few ‘weekend warriors’? Yet over 2.5 million people live in the constituencies Phase 1 of HS2 passes through.
Whichever way you cut it, it’s clear these protests are not going to stop HS2 in the slightest. They’re more like flea-bites, minor irritations that are soon dealt with. Many of them, like Chris Packham’s middle-class stroll along a muddy footpath with a few hundred people the other week, are just PR stunts, not a serious attempt to interfere in the building of HS2.
I can’t see the other four camps having any greater success as the same will happen. One day the Bailiff’s and Police will turn up without warning to take possession of the land and then it’s ‘Goodnight Vienna’ for the protest.
Somehow, I don’t think anyone in the corridors of power, or at the Department of Transport in Westminster or HS2 Ltd in Birmingham are going to be losing much sleep over these protests. Apparently, this coming weekend a four day long series of protests is meant to be held at what’s left of the Harvil Rd camp in a classic example of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted!
Talking of protests, there’s also this one in London on January 22nd, although I can’t see this setting the world alight either. I’ll be interested to see how many people actually bother turning up.
Meanwhile, in the real world, a decision from the Government on giving HS2 the go-ahead is expected any time now. The latest round of speculation is that the Oakervee review and the go-ahead for HS2 will be announced at the same time at the beginning of February, just after the UK has formally left the EU and the clock begins ticking on the transition period. Let’s face it, the Government’s going to be desperate for some good economic news once that happens and announcing the fact we’re going ahead with HS2 would fit the bill.
Paul Bigland 
Hmm, wonder where they got that Tolkien-esque artwork from? Peter Jackson, New Line Cinema and the Tolkien estate might have some ideas about that….
I believe you may have forgotten the numbers of followers in support of stopping HS2.
HS2 will decimate our country side; we face protential risk by HS2 contaminating our drinking water supplies and chalk streams; HS2 is removing essentil habitat for species on the endangered list and destroying the biodiversity along the route; the estimated over budget spend of the HS2 project makes it a redundant, out of date unaffordable waste of money that serves no purpose for the vast majority of the UK population; 108 irreplaceable ancient woodlands will be affected by HS2 works & millions of other trees along the route will be felled by HS2. HS2 is not even carbon free.
HS2 is a complete fast that needs shutting down. The sooner the better, so we can start to spend the allotted money in area’s that will best be suited instead of wasting it on a white elephant as HS2
I’m sorry but this is just empty bluster. The “number of followers”? What does that even mean? Where are these ‘followers’? Nowhere. They certainly weren’t at Harvil Rd when the Bailiffs turned up. They’ve not been at any of the demonstrations either as the turn out at every one has been tiny.
Your words are empty. Apart from scaremongering, it’s clear you’ve nothing worthwhile to say. You don’t even know why we’re building HS2 in the first place, let alone have any credible alternatives and frankly, credibility is the last thing that anyone who calls HS2 a ‘white elephant’ has.
You’re not protecting the environment, you’re actually putting it at risk by your blinkered attitudes. Enjoy watching HS2 being built.
Haha you are so far behind the programme. Try and catch up 😉
I repeat, what does this even mean? It’s child-like bluster. There is no ‘programme’, just a small, ineffective band of demonstrators. Looking at the tedious rambles they post on social media, many of them seem barely able to string a coherent sentence together, much less come out with a lucid, coherent argument. They’re certainly no match for the Bailiffs, or HS2 as their heads are so full of fiction and scaremongering.
Su. The “contaminating our drinking water supplies” is perhaps the best example of the scaremongering that goes on from the Stop HS2 narrative as HS2 won’t do any such thing. For starters your drinking water comes from a water treatment plant and not straight from sources such as rivers or the ground. Only a few years ago round our way we had to use bottled water for nearly a week due to one dead rabbit getting into our water treatment plant so these places are clearly very tightly run. Secondly there are thousands of other sources ranging from farm run off to road runoff to everyday stuff like garden chemicals and so much else that get into the groundwater sources hence the treatment plants. I’m far more concerned about all those pop up car washes with all those chemicals that often run straight into land drainage or surface drains. Lastly HS2 uses materials that are chemically inert, such as concrete, steel, aggregate and so on so just what source of pollution are you so worried about, can you even tell us or have you just blindly followed the myth?? Did the construction of the M40 or HS1 cause any such widespread contamination, of course not.
Newyears Bourne is a polluted river due to former landfill operations. Which are now buried under the adjacent Newyears Covert. There are 21 known water linkages leaving the landfill site including the bourne. The landfill site was officially registered as contaminated in 2011, which led to the closure of the Ickenham water pumping station. HS2 wanted to use the contaminated field for piledriving tests, drilling into the chalk aquifer (70 metres down) on a polluted pathway, incomprehensible and irresponsible to take such risk with our drinking water supplies placing Morehall rd pumping station at risk which serves London
And? That pollution has been known about since the 1990s. Has it affected London’s drinking water? No. HS2 has legal obligations not to cause pollution and any work it carries out has to be done in co-operation with the local water authority – who are also under a legal obligation. The ‘risk’ that you talk about is negligible and will be managed, so your scaremongering is just that. It’s why your tiny protests are both pointless and ineffective.