Tag Archives: StopHs2

The HS2 ‘rebellion’ ends in a whimper…

30 Monday May 2022

Posted by in Hs2, HS2Rebellion, Politics, Railways, StopHs2

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Over the weekend the final act in the hopeless anti HS2 ‘rebellion’ (and I use that word very loosely indeed) came to a shambolic end when the last few squatters and protesters were evicted from their refugee camps in Staffordshire. The camps had been dying a slow death over the past three weeks, but the final act came quickly when bailiffs and security moved in and the few remaining protesters were dispersed. The farce was announced on the defunct Bluebell camps Facebook page thus:

Forget the attempt to play the homeless sympathy card. Most of these people do have real homes to go to – either back to their parents, or to the vans and caravans some of them lived in. They squatted and occupied this land, it’s not their home. In fact, the last squatters were damaging someone’s farmland as their own pictures show.

There’s now not a single camp left anywhere on the HS2 route. All that is left is two isolated protesters down tunnels at the Cash’s Pit site (aka Bluebell wood). Both are now in breach of High Court injunctions. It’s only a matter of time until they either give up or are dug out (having achieved the sum total of zilch). They will not be passing go or collecting £200 either. There’s only once place they’re likely to end up…

To make matters worse for the protesters the High Court in Birmingham spent 2 days (Thursday and Friday) hearing evidence for HS2 Ltd’s route wide injunction. Judgement has been reserved and is expected to be announced in several weeks time. Despite the scenes of bravado from the handful of protesters outside, it’s clear from the evidence offered by them that many hadn’t got a clue what was really going on. You can find all the legal documentation here – including witness statements and claims from the few protesters who asked to have their names removed from the injunction. In fact, only 2 of the 58 names were removed. Number 47 (Tom Dalton) and Number 56 (Libby Farbrother). Both will have had to sign legal undertakings not to interfere with HS2 property ever again. Other protesters had asked for their names to be removed as they were no longer involved in trying to stop HS2, having drifted away from the campaign over the past months and years. After the shenanigans from the protesters in Court, expect a revised list of names, with more added! The High Court is not to be treated with contempt but the protesters have a habit of doing so, as well as displaying weapons-grade misunderstanding and misinformation of law – which doesn’t endear them to the legal profession. I suspect the judgement (when it appears) is going to make interesting reading.

For reference, here’s a copy of the wording of one of the actual undertakings the defendants are asked to sign in order to have their names removed. The wording makes it clear that it does NOT bar them from public rights of way or the highway. It merely prohibits certain actions. But of course, the truth doesn’t fit the protesters narrative…

Another document deals with the protesters accusations of ‘wildlife crimes’ and completely skewers them. Firstly, it says;

“I understand from the Claimants’ legal representatives that a number of allegations were made in Court today by named defendants and other individuals that the First Claimant has been prosecuted / fined for “wildlife crimes”.

As the protesters haven’t defined what a wildlife crime the document helpfully says this:

“The Crown Prosecution Service says: “Wildlife crime can be defined as any action which contravenes current legislation governing the protection of wild animals and plants.”

Then comes the killer…

“I confirm that the First Claimant has never been prosecuted (whether by the police or any other relevant regulatory or other body such as the Environment Agency or Natural England) for a Wildlife Crime. It follows, but again I confirm for completeness, that the First Claimant has never been fined in relation to the commission of a Wildlife Crime”.

In the light of such simple legal facts, you can imagine what weight the Judge will be giving to the protesters ‘evidence’….

The hundreds and hundreds of evidence bundles made for voluminous and often tedious reading – especially the overlong and bombastic nonsense from Mark Keir. But there were a few interesting nuggets in some of it (such as the above) including statements from former StopHs2 ‘Campaign Manager’ Joe Rukin, who was forced to admit what we’ve all known for quite some time. StopHS2 is dead. It died several years ago.

Rukin’s evidence is hidden away in document No 50. Bundle D – Volume A. All 177 pages of it! Here’s a link just in case you’re suffering from insomnia at any time! The relevant parts of Rukin’s confession is reproduced here.

Rukin goes on to say…

And, finally…

So there we have it. “StopHs2 has had no part in organising or coordinating any campaigning activity for the last two years.” They’ve joined all the other anti HS2 groups like the HS2 Action Alliance, AGAHST and dozens of local (in)action groups up and down the route that folded many years before.

There’s now no campaign to stop HS2 – just the remains of a rag-bag of baseless protesters, many of whom are now scattered to the four winds or gone to join other lost causes (two of the names on the injunction ‘Digger Down’ and Larch Maxey are now at an oil protest site in Surrey). It really is all over bar the moaning now. And, if the High Court grants HS2 Ltd their injunction (which is very likely, although their may be amendments), there won’t be any more camps either. No doubt their might be the odd protest and banner-waving here and there, but that’s meaningless. The only way HS2 was ever going to be stopped was by what never existed from day one – major political opposition to the project. The protests have never been anything more than a very expensive circus.

UPDATE: 25th June.

After 47 days of attracting hardly any publicity the tunnellers gave up and slinked off, claiming a ‘victory’ despite not having achieved a single thing other than being in contempt of court and facing jail time. This brings an end to the HS2 ‘rebellion’. There’s not a single camp left along the entire route of HS2, nor is there likely to be another as most of the tiny bunch of people who were involved have scattered to the four winds…

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UPDATE: 19th June.

Today what’s left of the protesters are boasting that the two in the tunnels have been underground now for 40 days. Their problem is, no-one cares! The media lost interest weeks ago and so did most of their social media followers. Now all the camps have gone, so’s much of their attention.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the HS2 Phase 2B Hybrid Bill will fly through its second reading in Parliament. There’ll be no protests, because there’s no-one left to organise any and little interest if they did. Stop Hs2 is dead.

It’s the end of the line for ‘StopHS2’

04 Sunday Apr 2021

Posted by in Hs2, Joe Rukin, Politics, Protest, StopHs2

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Funny how you never hear real news on the StopHs2 website – especially when it relates to yet another of their failures! Just as there was total radio silence about ‘Campaign Manager’ Joe Rukin’s embarrassing (and expensive) legal fiasco last October, there’s been no public announcement that the man’s finally admitted what the rest of us have known for years – he’s been wasting his time!

This fact has finally dawned on Rukin, who sent an email around to the groups supporters at the end of March – after yet another legal failure when his latest application for a Judicial Review was dismissed. Here’s part of what Rukin has said.

True to the end, Rukin’s not been honest with people. The truth is that he’s been looking for a proper job for several years now and the real reason he’s stayed is because he didn’t get one. Rukin’s retirement means that the only person left is Bournemouth based Penny Gaines, so effectively, it’s game over. I mean, seriously – ‘StopHs2’? based in Bournemouth? As a campaign group StopHS2 have been irrelevant for several years as they never managed to secure what they needed to stop HS2 – political support. The writing’s been on the wall since 2014 when the Phase 1 Hybrid Bill passed with such whopping majorities (both in the Commons and Lords). Cross-party support for HS2’s never wavered (despite some of the nonsense claimed by people like Rukin) and without the political numbers adding up in their favour – they were toast. The demise of StopHs2 puts the final nail in the coffin that already contains the remains of ‘AGAHST’ (Action Groups Against HS2), the High Speed 2 Action Alliance’ (HS2aa) and dozens of local ‘action’ groups up and down the HS2 routes.

Now, the only thing left is the dwindling number of protesters allied to Extinction Rebellion, Hs2Rebellion and the local Nimbys who support them. It’s only a matter of time before the bell tolls for them too. Despite their bombast and bluster they’ve not stopped a thing. Now they’re reduced to boasting of ‘delaying’ pockets of work on HS2 (conveniently ignoring the fact what’s caused the most delays to the project has been the Government shilly-shallying with reviews). The protesters ‘protection camp’ network has been shrinking ever since last summer, with many camps now being redundant as there’s nothing left to ‘protect’! Meanwhile, site clearances and construction on Phase 1 have ramped up massively, completely overwhelming the puddle of protesters. Now, Phase 2 has been given the go-ahead and a contract to create new woods and wetlands as part of early environmental works on the route between the West Midlands and Crewe was signed on April 1st.

The days of the final ‘protection camps’ that have any relevance to the route are numbered and we can expect to see their demise happen soon. No doubt there will still be isolated protests here and there and some people will be left in pointless camps on private land, out of harm’s way, but they’ll be posturing, nothing more.

The campaign to stop Hs2 never stood a chance. Now it’s spluttering to an ignominious end…

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It’s just another ‘Groundhog day’ for Joe Rukin and StopHs2…

06 Saturday Mar 2021

Posted by in Hs2, Politics, Railways, StopHs2

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Having watched the abortive anti HS2 campaign for nearly 10 years now two words always spring to mind: Déjà vu – or in the expression made famous by the 1990s film – it’s another “Groundhog Day”…

After 11 years of failure those opposed to building our new high-speed railway haven’t learned a thing and keep repeating the same failed, stale tactics in an endless series of re-runs. Observing their campaign is like having a TV stuck on one of those cable channels that spew out endless repeats! I’ve lost count of the number of petitions launched, legal challenges threatened or boycotts demanded.

The latest ‘haven’t we been here before’? moment comes courtesy of Joe Rukin and StopHs2, the one man and his dog operation that’s been irrelevant for some time now. As Joe’s still not found a proper job after years of trying he’s desperate to try and keep the group running as it helps bring some money in.

So, Joe’s recycling the tried, tested (and failed) route of – yet another Judicial Review! You can find the full details in this rather rambling entry on the stophs2 website.

More Comical Ali than legal eagle, Joe Rukin videoed a call for help from the StopHS2 registered office and ‘nerve’ centre (his spare bedroom).

Over the years anti HS2 campaigners have tried dozens of JR’s. The late (unlamented) High Speed 2 Action Alliance launched a plethora of them, all but one failed and the one that didn’t was on a consultation that HS2 swiftly re-ran, so it was all rather pointless. It’s been the same with celebrity environmentalist Chris Packham who also tried and failed, achieving little more than parting a lot of fools from their money via Crowdfunding. Money that was then trousered by his grateful solicitors ‘Pay Day’ (you mean Leigh Day! Ed). As usual, the only people who benefit from any of these doomed legal cases are the Lawyers.

I’ve little doubt this latest attempt will result in the same outcome. Rukin is applying for permission to launch a Judicial Review, but the fact he’s appealing to others for evidence to back up his claims tell you all you need to know. The fact that he’s giving people so little time to gather this evidence doesn’t bode well either. His closing date is the 9th March (Tuesday).

Of course, what Rukin isn’t telling his supporters is what happened last time he applied for a Judicial Review. This was back in October last year – only then he didn’t bother with such a trivial thing as evidence – which is why his request was summarily thrown out at the first hurdle and he was landed with a legal bill of £4300!

I blogged about the debacle at the time, which you can find here.

For some mysterious reason you won’t find any mention of his October 2020 failure anywhere on the StopHs2 website or Facebook page. It’s been expunged from history, as if it never happened! I wonder why?

Perusing his latest request for help it looks like Rukin is trying to re-run the same failed case again, which suggests he’ll get short-shrift from the Judges who end up having to consider his request. As usual with Rukin, details of these things are scant, so there’s no information on who his legal advisors are (if he even has any) or when the hearing will be, so watch this space as I’ll report on the outcome of the judgement when it’s delivered – as I suspect Rukin will be as reticent as last time to announce another failure! Watch this space…

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More dangerous hypocrisy from those opposed to building HS2.

29 Friday Jan 2021

Posted by in Anti Hs2 mob, Hs2, Railways, StopHs2

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Unless your name’s Rip Van Winkle it’s unlikely that you’re unaware that the UK is currently in a national ‘lockdown’ to combat the resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic, especially as there’s a new (much more easily transmittable) strain around.

The Government is (for once) pretty clear on the legal restrictions, and the message is – stay at home! As the rules make plain;

“You must not leave, or be outside of your home except where necessary”

You are permitted to leave home for certain (essential) reasons, but the laws go on to say;

“If you do leave home for a permitted reason, you should always stay in your local area – unless it is necessary to go further, for example to go to work.

Staying in your local area means stay in the village, town, or part of the city where you live”.

Straightforward, no?

To the nation’s credit, most people are obeying the laws for the simple reasons of self-preservation and out of respect for others. Well, that is unless you’re an anti HS2 protester as apparently the rules don’t apply to them. These are the same protesters who have launched a barrage of complaints against HS2 workers, labelling them Covid ‘super spreaders’ for continuing to work during the pandemic (ignoring that they’re only one part of the construction industry which is continuing to work on essential projects up and down the country whilst being closely monitored by Health Officials and other Government agencies).

You may have seen from the media that here’s a farce going on outside Euston station at the moment as a tiny band of protesters and homeless people are being evicted by Police, bailiffs and HS2 workers who have moved in to begin clearing and securing the site. As of Friday morning all that’s left is (according to the protesters themselves) four people in a tunnel the protesters have dug under the gardens.

To say this protest is futile is an understatement. It doesn’t stop any HS2 construction work at all. The Gardens are outside the main footprint of the Euston station construction project and the site isn’t required for temporary relation of facilities for a long time yet. In effect, the protesters had neutralised themselves! All it’s achieved is a certain notoriety as a squalid place for drug-dealing that’s turned the gardens into a tip. A lot of the publicity the protesters are attracting is as much negative as positive.

But my issue is this. If we’re in a lockdown amidst a pandemic that’s already killed 100,000 in the UK, where are these protesters coming from – because many aren’t living in that camp. Now, I’m going to make absolutely no apology for naming and shaming some people here. People are dying in their 1000s, yet these protesters (and their hangers-on) consider the lockdown rules don’t apply to them. They’re roaming the country at will. Here’s some examples, all taken from their own self-publicity on social media.

Meet Caroline Thompson Smith, a ‘leading light’ in the anti Hs2 campaign in Steeple Claydon, where she lives.

Here’s Caroline yesterday, livestreaming from Euston to the HS2rebellion Facebook page. Steeple Claydon is 59 miles away from Euston. Now, what was that Government advice again?

Meet Sam Smithson, AKA “Swan”, a protester who lives at the risibly named Denham Ford ‘protection’ camp North of Uxbridge, where the protesters have failed to stop the National Grid moving some High Voltage pylons that are in the way of HS2. Back in the summer ‘Swan’ had a fall from some ropes whilst protesting and the anti HS2 websites were full of claims that she’d broken her collarbone. She made a miraculous recovery and was photographed bouncing on a bed in the hotel she was taken to immediately after her arrest!

The Denham camp is 20 miles NW of Euston. Here’s ‘Swan’ being interviewed there during their last failure to stop National Power.

And here’s ‘Swan’ yesterday at Euston, broadcasting to the world with the assistance of William AKA “boots on the ground” (more of whom in minute).

Right, let’s talk about William. Ole’ Boots can’t be with us today because he’s buggered off to Spain (for the second time during the Pandemic). This time he was boasting about how he took the train to get there. Y’know – High-Speed trains – the things he opposes the UK having? William (an American national living in London) has a long history of both spouting rubbish and flitting around the world and the UK whilst totally ignoring the Covid restrictions. Ole ‘boots’ nonsense has featured in several blogs before, notably this one, and this one.

Whilst William had to be content circulating his rubbish whilst sunning himself in Spain, other protesters had turned up. Meet Jacob Harwood, a long time protester who’s popped up all over the place since 2019. Supposedly, he’s meant to be in Canterbury where he’s a student.

Jacob (or ‘Groovella’ as his renamed himself to fool no-one at all) is still getting about a bit. On the 18th January he was filming at the HS2/E-W rail work at Steeple Claydon in Bucks

Which is rather odd as on one of his videos filmed at Euston on Thursday you can hear him swearing blind to a police officer that he’s now homeless as he’s lived at the Euston Camp since August 2019! The story changes in later videos where he claims he’s only been there five months. One thing is clear, you can’t trust a word he says.

Here’s another one to add to the list from today. Karen Wildin, who is already known to the police, having been arrested by them before for climbing on machinery up in Warwickshire. Wildin, who says she lives in Leicester, has filmed herself at Euston this morning. Now what was that the Government advice was? “You must not leave, or be outside of your home except where necessary”…

There are several other protesters who’ve pitched up from elsewhere, including this chap, who’s ostensibly based in Bristol (and who was at Crackley camp recently). He’s one of the ‘leading lights’ in HS2Rebellion. I’ll add more details later.

Frankly, it was a wasted journey. He and another protester were taken down and arrested this morning. All the trees are now clear of protesters. In fact, the only ones remaining on site are the four holed up in the tunnel (well, they’re *really* going to stop HS2 down there, aren’t they? Ed).

Of that four, one is the famous failure, Larch Maxey, who was last seen up in North London where he didn’t stop a tree being chopped down in Islington. Clearly, Maxey has got more ‘bubbles’ than an Aero! Rather than being nicknamed ‘Larch’, Maxey would be better called ‘Dr Death’ because wherever he turns up, trees die! He’s been a serial failure since the mid-1990s when he didn’t stop a motorway extension in Lancashire. His recent roll-call of failure includes just about every StopHs2 camp going!

Oh, another ‘face’ that’s appeared in the Guardian today is Daniel Hooper aka ‘Swampy’ who is pictured down the tunnel. Is he ‘really’ living at that camp? Last month he was arrested at Denham after another famous failure to stop Hs2 work. Or, is this a case of popping in for a photo-op to get in the newspapers – sans mask, in the confines of a tunnel!

Now, the right to protest is enshrined in law – as it should be. But the right to roam the country during a pandemic isn’t. This is the 21st century and there’s a wide range of avenues open to register a protest – as these protesters show by their use of the internet. They do not need to pitch up in Central London, putting other people lives at risk. But that’s their weapons-grade hypocrisy, as this shows.

“Recklessly flouts lockdown”? Oh, the irony…

No doubt I’ll be adding a few other names to this list in the next day or two. In the meantime, it would be refreshing to see some of my colleagues in the mainstream media stop giving these Covidiots a free pass and actually do their jobs by asking some awkward and searching questions of these people for once, rather than just being a propaganda conduit for the protesters…

Of course, the stupidity and futility of this protest is also being ignored by many, because whilst the media and public’s attention is on this circus at Euston, HS2 construction work continues uninterrupted at Euston and all the other sites along the 140 mile route to Birmingham. Soon, work will begin on the Phase 2a route to Crewe as that section will gain Royal Assent any day now. I’ll be listing progress on building HS2 in my next blog…

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Another sorry tale from those opposed to HS2…

29 Thursday Oct 2020

Posted by in Hs2, StopHs2

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Those people opposed to HS2 are having a sorry time of it right now. With their numbers depleted by evictions, arrests, bail conditions and injunctions, along with their collapse on the political front, they don’t have much to crow about. That that they let that stop them of course! HS2Rebellion still pump out the sort of ridiculous propaganda about ‘winning’ that would make ‘Comical Ali’ blush.

Of course, the reality is rather different. Whilst HS2 Ltd have noted in the board minutes that the protests escalated over the summer and have cost many millions of pounds of public money (enough to fund a new school) the delays they’ve caused are not significant. And now – the summer’s over…

How farcical the protests are was highlighted today. Remember that phase 1 of the HS2 railway that’s being built at the moment stretches over 140 miles from London to Birmingham – and a bit beyond. That’s a huge number of worksites and construction compounds, as well as areas of utility diversions, vegetation clearances, road widening schemes and the odd new motorway bridge! Arrayed against this are five ‘protection’ camps and a rag-bag of a few dozen protesters who come and go.

Today, the only protest involved 2 young women climbing aboard a wood-chipper that was being delivered on a low-loader to the HS2 site at Grims Ditch near Wendover. They boarded it on a public highway just before it entered a compound which is securely fenced so no no work on the site was stopped. In fact, two other protesters had been arrested earlier in the week for trying to prevent the fencing being built. They failed.

The dozen or so people ‘supporting’ the young girls by filming the escapade and livestreaming it to social media were very soon heavily outnumbered by the local constabulary and HS2 security. By 2.30pm today the police had safely removed the women, arrested them and taken them away to be charged – probably under Section 241 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 – and the wood chipper was delivered to the site unharmed.

So, what did the women achieve? Nothing, apart from getting arrested! The chipper might as well have been delayed in traffic! No work was stopped. Now the women will have bail conditions imposed which will prevent them from being involved again. They may even be banned from the country, depending on where they come from. It’s a kamikaze tactic and a complete waste of time, but that’s the anti HS2 campaign on the ground for you. It seems to be focused on phyrric victories that can be filmed for social media, but no-ones watching!

Here’s a screen-grab of the video filmed by serially failed Green Party candidate Mark Keir (who’s injuncted, banned from the protest at Harvil Rd/Denham and now facing a £3000 fine for ignoring the injunction!)

This was 90 minutes of tedium and daft polemics on the voice-over, although it did show what was happening. But wait – how big an audience did it draw? The eye symbol at the top gives it away. Just 38 people watched. That’s less than the combined total of police and Hs2 security staff attending!

This sort of stunt will stop Hs2? To quote a famous tennis player. ‘You cannot be serious’!

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The stopHs2 campaign’s a gift to Lawyers (but no-one else).

24 Saturday Oct 2020

Posted by in Hs2, Joe Rukin, StopHs2

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The other day I was blogging about Joe Rukin and his StopHs2 group, remarking how little visibility they have now they’re redundant, then this pops up – but I’ll bet you won’t see it mentioned on their website!

Why? Because it’s yet another expensive legal fiasco!

Apparently, Rukin had filed for a Judicial Review of the Government’s decision to proceed with the High Speed 2 railway. There was just one teeny, tiny problem. He never offered a shred of evidence to back up his claim – as the court decision reveals.

Not only was no evidence produced, Rukin’s landed with a legal bill of £4234! Only he isn’t really, because – like all the other spurious and futile legal cases brought against HS2 over the years, this one has been funded by donations from gullible members of the public. Of course, the final bill will be much higher as this doesn’t account for monies paid to Rukin’s solicitors, so just how many thousands of pounds has been wasted in total is a good question.

Over the years, anti HS2 campaigners have wasted millions of pounds of other people’s money on these lost causes (including taxpayers, as the Government can’t claim damages). The only people who’ve benefitted are the legal profession, who’ve been happy to trouser the cash.

For many years the leaders in this field were the Chiltern Nimbys who called themselves the High-Speed 2 Action Alliance (HS2AA). They took out dozens of Judicial Reviews against HS2 back in the early 2010s. In 2012 they took out 10 and lost 9. Only the most minor judgement was upheld and it had no meaningful impact on the progress of the project. You can find details here. They tried (and failed) again in 2014, this time with Hillingdon Council.

Of course, HS2AA are history now, the group folded years ago. It was left to ‘celebrity’ environmentalist Chris Packham to pick up the challenge of wasting people’s money, which he duly did with his 2020 judicial review, along with his solicitors ‘Pay Day’ (don’t you mean Leigh Day? Ed). The ruling when it came was excoriating, sparing neither Packham nor his solicitors blushes. People’s money wasn’t spared either as Packham had raised the ackers to throw away through a crowdfunder which reached £140,000.

Of course, over the years we’ve heard lots of bluster from other anti HS2 groups threatening judicial reviews, none of which have materialised.

One that did was another 2020 failure by Camden Resident Hero Granger Taylor, which was also Crowdfunded.

Ironically, Rukin’s has been kept quiet, with no mention of it on the StopHs2 website, but then that’s probably no surprise as it was a woeful attempt that was doomed to failure as he couldn’t offer any evidence to back up his claims! I’ll bet his humiliation won’t get a mention either…

I almost feel sorry for the people who’ve been mugged for money by these campaign groups or people like Packham (trading on his celebrity). They’ve spaffed* hundreds of thousands of pounds up the wall. My ire is saved for the people who launch these futile cases, knowing that they can con the money out of people to fund them. I also take a dim view of the legal firms like ‘Pay Day’ (you mean Leigh Day! Ed) who’re quite happy to trouser the cash on the basis that they’re helping to ‘test’ the boundary’s of the law. I’ve yet to hear of them turning round to anyone to say “look folks, you’re wasting your money, you haven’t got a chance of success”

Hopefully, we’ll see people less keen to throw their money away on lawyers and futile attempts to stop Hs2 now – but I won’t hold my breath..

*copyright Boris Johnson

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StopHs2, where are you?

14 Saturday Mar 2020

Posted by in Environment, Hs2, Railways, StopHs2

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I’m returning to an old topic to take a look at the state of play with the campaign to stop HS2. The Government’s announcement that HS2 was going ahead in its entirety and the obvious commitment and enthusiasm for the project from Prime Minister Johnson has really knocked the remaining wind out of the sails of those opposed to HS2.

The sole remaining national group (StopHs2) which in reality is just two people (Joe Rukin in Kenilworth and Penny Gaines in Bournemouth) is to all intent and purpose redundant. There’s no point to a political campaign to stop HS2 anymore as it’s painfully obvious there’s no support, exactly the opposite. Many of those who’ve opposed HS2 in the past have accepted the futility of continuing their opposition. A good example is former Minister Andrea Leadsom, the MP for South Northamptonshire, who recently Tweeted a video where she said her focus now is on getting the best deals for her constituents from HS2 Ltd.

With the collapse of the political element StopHs2 have sod all to report as they’re not actually doing anything themselves. Both they and what’s left of the ‘action group’ network are redundant. Many ‘action’ group members were elderly, middle-class homeowners worried about their house prices. They’re the last people you’re going to catch traipsing around muddy fields or chaining themselves to bulldozers. A few of them are still fulminating about HS2 on social media, but there’s been a noticeable drop-off there too.

Apart from tedious tweets about every time HS2 is (or isn’t) mentioned on ‘BBC Question Time’ or sending a stream of pointless commentary and spin about someone being questioned about HS2 in a Parliamentary Ctte Penny Gaines might as well not exist. Joe Rukin isn’t much better. His only usefulness now is in throwing his weight (resist the puns, Ed) behind those protesting on the ground at one of the handful of protest camps on Phase 1 although even those appearances are becoming fewer. It can’t be long now before StopHs2 finally folds as it’s completely redundant.

For once in his life, Joe Rukin is right…

Nowadays most of the real running against HS2 is made by the mixed bag of people who gather under the ‘Extinction Rebellion’ banner and occasionally attend one of the protest camps on the Phase 1 route. These can be divided into three categories.

1. The ‘hardliners’: Those who spend their time living at one of the camps for at least several days. Most are self-employed. They return home every so often to do some work to top up their money supply. They fit the image of the ‘eco-warrior’ of old. Those of us who’re old enough and remember the days of the free-festivals and the ‘convoy’ will know exactly the type of people I mean. You have to admire their commitment but they are woefully misinformed about the issues. There’s a sociological study for someone’s PhD to be had here – and it would make really interesting reading!

2. Route Dwellers: Those who live on the route who have the time and inclination to protest and will turn up when they can. The vast majority seem to be middle-class women. Many seem to be using ‘green’ issues as a fig-leaf for Nimbyism. Most will have absolutely no history of concern for environmental issues before HS2 came along.

3. The ‘good timers’: These are a mix of people who’ll turn up to an organised event, especially if there’s a celebrity name behind it like Chris Packham, or those who’d turn up to the Harvil Rd camp of a weekend to party and get pissed/stoned before going home again. Both are equally useless at stopping HS2 as they don’t actually disrupt any construction activity. There’s one such event this weekend and it’ll be very interesting to see how many actually bother turning up.

What has been obvious from social media is that people haven’t exactly been queuing up to go as this shows.

In the end, the few people going are car-sharing. They couldn’t even fill a minibus, much less a coach!

Quite what this little gathering will achieve is open to question. They’ll have their little ramble, then go away – then HS2 will move in soon afterwards to begin work. Any protesters who remain in the area will be removed as HS2 has applied for a court order which will be heard next week on the 17th March. It names two people, Joe Rukin and Matthew Bishop, plus ‘persons unknown’. The order is to restrain future trespass, effectively making the named areas no-go areas to protesters and nipping any more protests in the bud as such actions will be illegal. This injunction will form a legal template for other areas.

Few of the protesters are willing to risk criminal convictions, so the injunctions will act as a huge deterrent, leaving the hardliners out on a limb. That number’s dwindling already as one of them, a woman called Sarah Green, has been noticeably absent from events of late. The number of people who fit into this group is less than a couple of dozen. Most noticeable are serially failed Green Party Candidate Mark Keir. Alan Woodward, Matthew Bishop, Elizabeth Cairns and Sarah Snooks.

They’re all fighting a rearguard action as it is because their numbers are so small. They’re an inconvenience to HS2 rather than a credible threat. This fact is borne out by all the videos they post on their various Facbook pages or YouTube sites. I’ve never quite understood how a video showing a single protester utterly failing to stop any work at all is meant to act as an encouragement to anyone! Here’s an example from Alan ‘Budgee’ Woodward on YouTube.

Stop Hs2 when you can’t even format a video properly?

A cynic might wonder how many of these videos serve any other purpose than narcissism. Even some of the protesters seem to be realising that it’s all very well providing hours of voyeuristic material for your Farcebook ‘friends’ or YouTube followers but their support very rarely materialises in the real world. It may give you a feeling of self-importance, but they don’t matter a damn when it comes to actually trying to stop Hs2. It’s the same when it comes to raising money, as this appeal shows.

Whichever metric you look at it’s clear the campaign’s collapsing. Here’s today’s numbers for their latest petition on the Government’s website.

After two weeks only having 2700 signatures is the lowest amount they’ve ever had in 10 years…

Notice that only HS2 phase 1 features on the petition? Contrast that to this map of their 2017 petition when they had over 26,000 signatures.

The phase 2 routes are conspicuous by their absence! Rother Valley, the only phase 2 constituency that got into four figures has only got 28 signatures so far this time.

So, politically their campaign’s dead. It’s also hopeless on the ground as the numbers turning up are tiny and ineffective which only leaves the legal angle and antis have pinned their hopes on Celebrity environmentalist Chris Packham’s legal case. But there’s one rather large problem. Packham hasn’t even got permission to proceed with it. Before he does he needs to convince a judge that his argument has merit and there’s a case to answer. If he falls at that hurdle, it’s toast. Even if a judge does let him proceed it won’t stop Hs2 in the slightest as the process HS2 went through to get approval is very different to the legal argument over Heathrow. Watch this case go nowhere…

UPDATE.

So, how did today’s token demonstration in Kenilworth go? Badly, although those who took part try and pretend otherwise! Looking at the videos from the event (and being generous) I’d say that around 250 turned up to posture and parade. They weren’t actually stopping anything of course. It was purely symbolic. The problem? Over 2.5 million folk live on phase 1 of HS2, so 250 is politically and statistically insignificant. The only message it sends is – “is that it?”

Roll on Tuesday…

Oops! They did it again…

06 Friday Mar 2020

Posted by in Hs2, Railways, StopHs2

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Some people never learn. In this case it’s the dwindling bunch of Nimbys who still oppose HS2 and think that their sense of entitlement somehow trumps the transport infrastructure needs of the UK, especially in this time of climate change, where we really do need the rail capacity to get folks out of planes and cars and onto carbon-neutral trains.

Despite everything that’s happened in the past few months, what with the Conservatives gaining a solid Parliamentary majority and half the MPs who previously opposed HS2 losing their seats since 2014 – the tiny band who fly the flag of ‘StopHs2’ haven’t learned a thing in a decade.

Short of any real plan, far less a cunning one, they’ve fallen back on the same failed tactics that have never stood them in good stead – even when there was lots more of them!

They’ve started another petition…

Because petitions have worked so well for them in the past, obviously!

Here’s a link to the latest one, which has got off to a less than stratospheric start (as I scribble this it has 867 signatures after 3 days). It’s been started by one Elizabeth Williams, whom I’m assuming is the same ‘Lizzie’ Williams who started StopHs2 until she had to hand over the reins of the groups as her behaviour was in danger of imploding it.

Why they still bother with these petitions is a total mystery as all they ever do is three things – get less and less signatures each time, prove the fact that the vast majority of folk signing them live in the 63 constituencies Hs2 passes through – and that the majority of those signing live on Phase 1! Here’s the petition map from today which (as ever) shows that – by total co-incidence – the most signatures are from constituencies on Phase 1. You can imagine my surprise….

This petition will do exactly the same as all the others. It’s doomed to failure from the start. It also shows that – despite have run several of these pointless exercises in the past – they’ve never actually twigged their limitations. Just say for the sake of argument they get 100,oo signatures (hell will freeze over first). What happens then? How will that stop HS2? It won’t. Here’s what it says on the front page of each petition.

“Considered for debate”. Debate, not vote. There is no vote. The petition is toothless. Mind you, even if there was a vote HS2 would win it hands down with a huge majority as the project has cross-party support! It’s an utterly pointless exercise.

Still, it does do one thing. It gives me a few numbers to crunch and empirical evidence of the weakness of the StopHs2 campaign. So, it will be interesting to compare it with the results of 2019, 2018 or even some of their earlier efforts.

Meanwhile, in the real world, construction of HS2 ramps up…

Don’t expect many updates on the progress (or rather lack of) of this petition. I may pop in once a month just to see how badly it’s doing, but it’s really not worth wasting more time on than that.

The year marches on…

01 Sunday Mar 2020

Posted by in ACoRP, Down memory lane, Hs2, Musings, Photography, Railways, StopHs2

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Yep, today’s the start of a new month, not that there’s been much of a change, as we’ve had yet another storm warning! The only discernible difference is that the days are starting to get longer. I’ve spent much of the weekend scanning yet more old railway slides from 1990, which you can find in this gallery on my Zenfolio website. The latest batch of 60 are from Bristol and also the Tinsley loco depot open day, held on a dismal Saturday in September. Here’s a sample, featuring Bath Rd depot in Bristol – another place that’s long-gone.

BR Class 47 locomotives dominate this view of Bristol Bath Rd depot as the shed provided motive power for cross-country services from the South-West up to Birmingham and beyond, as well as passenger locomotives for the main line to London Paddington as well as servicing freight engines and local diesel multiple units.

As I mentioned in my last blog. I’m back in Bristol tomorrow for an ACoRP (Association of Community Rail Partnerships) conference. The programme shows that it’s going to be a busy event spread over two days but no doubt I’ll have some time to blog/tweet about what’s going on, as well as catch up with some old friends from the world of community railways.

To get to Bristol in time means the pair of us are up at sparrow-fart in the morning, so this isn’t going to be a long blog. I’d hoped to have time to compose one about the collapse of the StopHs2 campaign, but that can wait for another day! It’s not as if there’s anything going on with them anyway. They’ve been very quiet on social media since the Government announced the fact HS2’s been given the green light. Mind you, they’ve also been inactive in the real world too. Their ‘direct action’ campaign at Harvil Rd and Cubbington wood has been completely ineffective at stopping HS2. The penny finally seems to be dropping that they’ll never have the numbers of people on the ground they need. There’s only a couple of dozen regulars and a few ‘weekend warriors’ – who’re especially useless and HS2 Ltd don’t normally work at weekends so there’s nothing to stop! The fact that having a bunch of voyeurs’ watching you make fools of yourself on Facebook isn’t going to stop Hs2 seems to be slowly sinking in too – hence this rather revealing post of one of their Facebook pages.

I’ll blog about this in detail when I have the time. Right now it’s time to pack a suitcase…

StopHs2. The final chapter was written today.

11 Tuesday Feb 2020

Posted by in Hs2, Politics, Railways

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Finally, after weeks of waiting and all sorts of political shenanigans’ and uncertainties the announcement has finally been made. HS2 is going ahead.

To be honest, it wasn’t much of a secret, or a surprise. The final decision’s been slowly leaked to the media over a number of weeks – as have dissenting views (not that they mattered).

Today, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the news. To be fair announced is hardly the right word. Those who thought the Government were ashamed of their decision were completely wrong-footed. This was no apologetic slipping out of unpopular news, this was a full-bore celebration with a fanfare and 21 gun salute. Johnson stood at the dispatch box and made a meal of it. This was bombastic, bellicose Boris in full flow. And, for once, he actually seemed to have some idea what he was talking about, because he wasn’t announcing vague plans for yet another bridge. This was the culmination of 10 years of planning, re-planning and co-operation between people on a huge scale. There was plenty of detail to be had – and Johnson made the most of it. Why wouldn’t he? He has an 80 seat majority and HS2 has huge cross-party support. It’s simply not a contentious issue and he desperately needs something like this to celebrate to take everyone’s mind off what comes next in the EU negotiations.

You could see that the penny was dropping with some of his back-benchers (old and new) as it became clear his Government were going full-tilt for HS2. Those ‘newbies’ who have ambitions but who represent constituencies on the route are starting to realise that opposition to HS2 could severely limit your career – especially when opposition is futile. Of course, for a few of the old hands like Chesham and Amersham MP Cheryl Gillan – whose career is already over – it’s not so much of a blow, but then she didn’t even bother turning up. The announcement also contained another gem. As I predicted in a blog back in August last year, Phase 2b of HS2 is to be re-aligned and merged with ‘Northern Powerhouse Rail’ (always an unwieldy name) to be rebranded “High Speed North”.

This is clever on a number of levels.

For a start, HS2 is now the project that’s already got the go-ahead and it’s a railway between London and Crewe (because phase 1 and 2a have been merged). It isolates the StopHs2 ‘campaign’ from the North. Why? Because the anti HS2 campaign was always based on phase 1, the railway from London – Birmingham. It’s where their grassroots and groups (like Hs2aa and StopHs2) were.

What do they have on the rebadged “High Speed North”? Nothing.

They have a tiny bunch of MPs who’re opposed – most of whom are newly elected and easily neutered as they have ambitions – and little else. In contrast, the North has massive political and business support for what was HS2 but is now clearly a Northern project that will deliver far more than HS2 could do in isolation. Don’t forget that 50% of the new ‘Northern Powerhouse Rail’ tracks would have been HS2 tracks. So, how many Northern MPs are now going to be brave (or foolhardy) enough to say “I oppose HSN” And why would Southern Tory MPs who’ve been outflanked on HS2 phase 1 put their own government at risk at the next election by opposing HSN when they no longer have a dog in the fight?

I could write more as I’ve not even touched on the Oakervee review yet, but I’m going to save that for another day. All I’ll say is that the review has made fools of much of the mainstream media. Why? Because they fell for the spin and briefings from Lord Berkeley that the cost of HS2 had risen to £106bn and they ran with it. In fact, the only refence to that figure in the Oakervee report is to dismiss it, not to endorse it.

StopHs2 is dead. Is anyone going to be stupid enough to try and rebrand it as “Stop High-Speed North”?