Explainers & Evidence

Below is a copy of the Briefing Note reproduced at http://stophs2.org/news/1562-green-partys-high-speed-rail-briefing-note, retrieved February 11th 2021. We cannot currently verify it is identical to the briefing note actually issued at the GPEW Spring Conference in 2011 and relied upon to pass Conference motion TR11.3. If anyone does have an authoritative link… Read More »Reference: Green Party’s High Speed Rail Briefing Note, 2011

One of the clearest and most well-known policy positions the Green Party of England and Wales holds, is to scrap HS2…isn’t it? Well – that depends on what you know about the policymaking process of the Party. The truth is, what is policy and what’s made out to be policy… Read More »“It’s green party policy to oppose HS2”

Some objections to HS2 are because people have heard that it will stimulate air travel. After all, it’s supported by, and has stations near, Birmingham and Manchester airports. Of course we Greens want much less air travel, not more, so how can we support HS2? HS2 is not about airports.… Read More »Stimulate air travel?

We know many very committed Greens are involved in these protests against HS2, concerned about the loss of habitat and woodland. We respect their dedication, but they’re protesting about the wrong thing. The real enemy is the government’s vast RIS2 road-building programme. Unlike RIS2, HS2 is an investment in a… Read More »RIS2: The real enemy is roads

HS2’s drilling and tunnelling into the chalk rock below its route has many people worried about drinking water supplies, and chalk streams such as the River Misbourne. This is an engineering challenge, but there isn’t a reason to be alarmed. It’s not a venture into the unknown. A few words… Read More »Chalk streams and drinking water

“All this, just to get to Birmingham 20 minutes quicker”, people say. Nope: on the day that HS2 starts, in 2029, its trains will also serve Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow. Here’s the service pattern. Each line = one train per hour both ways: The trains run on the new railway… Read More »“Just for 20 minutes quicker to Birmingham”

We often hear from Greens, including very senior ones, that HS2 is a climate disaster because it won’t be CO2-neutral for a long time. “120 years!” is quoted, “HS2’s own figures!” One big problem with this: it isn’t true. Let’s take a look at HS2 and CO2. HS2’s official position… Read More »120 years to carbon neutrality?

There has been many calls to cancel HS2, and spend the money on more immediate needs like properly funding the NHS or buying everyone a bike. We all want the NHS to be funded – but HS2 doesn’t work this way: in fact we’d be worse off. Let’s look at… Read More »£100bn+ for a railway? What about the nhs?

As Greens we share with all our party colleagues a huge respect for the natural world and a love of our country’s woodland and the wildlife it supports. We mourn the loss of ancient woodland wherever it happens. HS2 sadly causes the loss of some of this woodland. However, one… Read More »108 ancient woodlands destroyed?