Who We Are

KAtie Fenn
Sheffield Green Party

“I moved to Sheffield twenty years ago to study at Sheffield Hallam University. During that time I became very familiar with the railway network as I travelled to see family in the South East, and saw how little had been invested in it. Twenty years later, the network is largely unchanged, and the problems it faces are sadly familiar.

A radical renewal of our railway network is the answer. HS2 is not only a new backbone for journeys across the UK, it re-frames the existing network as the most extensive local railway network in the world.

As Greens, we should embrace HS2 for its potential to eliminate internal flights, reduce unnecessary road freight, and make commuting in cars a thing of the past.”

Fiona Aviani-Bartram
Sheffield Green Party

“I’m a member of Sheffield Green Party. I’m an avid train geek, and I work as a trolley host with East Midlands Railway.

I was initially on the fence about HS2, but with Avanti continually messing up West Coast services, and after learning about how little capacity there is left on the West Coast Mainline, I became staunchly pro-HS2. It is clear that HS2 (and NPR) need to be built in full to reduce car and lorry use in this country.”

Thomas Atkin
Sheffield Green Party

“I’m Tom, I’ve been a member of the Green Party since the mid 2010’s. I’m the joint Election Coordinator for the Sheffield Greens and the International Officer for LGBTIQA+ Greens. I am also a massive transport nerd and have contributed to regional transport policy here in South Yorkshire.

Looking at High Speed Networks in other European Nations, I believe the only way we can get more people onto trains and more freight off the roads is with High Speed Rail”

Dylan Lewis-Creser
Sheffield Green Party

“I am currently a member of Sheffield Green Party and am on many party committees, including Equality & Diversity committee, the Young Greens committee & the LGBTIQA+ Greens committee as the Co-Chair. I also love trains and study Urban Studies and Planning at the University of Sheffield.”

Olli Watkins
WAkefield District Green Party

“I’m the PPC for Normanton, Pontefract, and Castleford, and currently sit on the Young Greens Democracy and Accountability Committee and the LGBTIQA+ Greens committee.

I was initially ambivalent, leaning towards sceptical, of HS2. But, as the project has progressed, it has become clear that opposing it is becoming ever more fruitless, and it would be far more practical and fruitful to reap the benefits of HS2 in full, including more capacity for local rail, a modal shift away from car use, and faster travel times.

I eagerly await rail capacity being freed up due to HS2, so that, hopefully, my current 1.5 hour commute by bus can be replaced by a 20 min commute by train, on a local service that is currently cancelled due to lack of capacity.”

Melanie Earp
Trafford Green Party

“I am a member of Trafford Green Party, and I was the candidate for Greater Manchester Mayor in 2021.

I was initially opposed to HS2, but read more around the subject and recognised how important this scheme is to improving transport and the environment nationally. I hate all destruction of habitats, and wish it could be achieved with none, but I have balanced this against the potential and actual loss to new roads and the ongoing impact more cars will have on the environment.”

Jake Welsh
Manchester Green Party

“I have been a member of the Green Party for 11 years, mostly as a member of Manchester Green Party, holding various roles at local, regional and national level. I have a massive interest in transport policy, for two main reasons.

Firstly, transport poverty is one of the biggest and most underestimated forms of poverty – lack of access to transport is arguably the biggest reason individuals are cut off from higher paid jobs.

Secondly, if we are to defeat climate change we absolutely need to get people out of their cars and onto public transport or active travel – to do that we need major investment in our rail network and HS2 as well as other future high speed lines play a crucial role in achieving this.”

sam easterby-smith
Manchester Green Party

“I am a member of Manchester Green Party, a long-standing active travel campaigner and sustainable transport enthusiast.

“Professionally, I’m a creative technologist and software developer, and have worked on many large scale technology projects.”

OWAIN SUTTON
TRAFFORD Green Party

“I come to Greens4HS2 as a lay person. For a long time I was sceptical of there being any need for the project, but doubts grew as I realised how little support there was from anyone actually working with railways for anything along the lines of the current GPEW policy, and that the party membership lacks sufficient understanding of the issue.

“The rail industry should be natural allies of the Green Party, as an integral part of how we can reduce carbon emissions. However, the Green Party position on HS2 doesn’t align with the realities of the industry or of the rail network we have, and I’m keen for the party’s policy on rail transport to have a full overhaul.”

MArtin Skelton
TRAFFORD Green Party

“I volunteer to get Greens elected, and am training in psychotherapy. Personally I’ve changed my mind. Now drawn to Greens4HS2 as we need bigger thinking to stop harming the planet.

HS2 is a chance to grasp lower carbon emissions. It’s time we enabled the benefits of more local trains and freight by rail.

Many of us rely and campaign on public transport. The Green Party can build better transport policy. I’d like travel to be cheaper and provide environmental justice for all.“

Paris Hayes
bolton Green Party

“I am an Environmental Science student at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston. HS2 isn’t just a North-South rail link with the aim to shave 20 minutes of train times to Birmingham, it will improve the lives of millions of people allowing overall faster journey times, less delays and cheaper ticket prices.”

Andrew Wight
Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Green Party

“I am a member and Co-Covener of Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Green Party. 

“For work I am an electrical engineer.”

Scott Robinson
Manchester Green Party

“I’m a member (and currently chair of) Manchester Green Party. I also co-convene the Rights & Responsibilities Policy Working Group.

I was originally sceptical of HS2 as I just thought it was about speed. When my partner explained that it was more about freeing up capacity for other trains and freight I came around to supporting it. I was surprised to find out GPEW policy was supportive of a High Speed link between North and South, but was opposed to HS2. I was introduced to Greens4HS2 after I was chatting about HS2 to local Manchester members including Jake Welsh and Sam Easterby-Smith.”

COUNCILLOR STEVE CAUDWELL
Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council / Solihull Green Party

“HS2 is clearly a hugely-divisive project and I can completely understand why many of our Party colleagues are opposed to it. It is – of course – undesirable to further deplete our natural capital, and whenever we do so it has to be under the most stringent scrutiny. I do that today in Solihull and we must continue to do so wherever the project affects either nature or people.

“But it remains true that additional rail infrastructure is essential to achieving modal shift – that means laying more track to move long-distance train services off of commuter lines so people get a real choice about getting out of their cars. I’m yet to see a compelling, cogent alternative proposal from either within or without the Green Party to obviate the evident need for HS2 as part of a national strategy to promote rail over road.”

CADE HATTON
Wolverhampton Green Party

“I’m Cade, a 29-year-old physically disabled Green.

I think HS2 is going to benefit a lot of disabled people; people who want independence and need shorter, more accessible journeys. The fact that HS2 is promised to be level access from street to train means I won’t be trapped on a train for 40 minutes while they look for a ramp. New trains, built with accessibility in mind, on accessible lines will change transport for disabled people across the UK.”

adam turner
northwest wales green party

“I am the elected chair of the Northwest Wales Green Party, and I sit on the policy development committee of the Wales Green Party.

“For work, I am a professionally accredited town planner, having obtained a Masters degree in Town and Regional Planning from the University of Sheffield, specialising in transport planning. I want to see public transport, cycling and walking prioritised over airport expansion and road-building.”

Philip Davies
GWENT green party

“I am a Gwent and Wales Green Party member and the current elected Campaigns Officer for the Young Greens.

I care deeply about both the climate emergency and the issue of air pollution. We need High Speed Rail so we can join France in banning internal flights. We also need to invest in new rail projects if we are going to get as many people as possible to stop using cars. I want HS2 and I want Wales to receive the money it is owed from the project.”

Robert Crowston
Cardiff, Vale and Rhondda Cynon Taff green party

“I’m passionate about the need to decarbonise transport at every level. I’ve been involved in local campaigns to improve active travel provision and reduce car-dependency in my neighbourhood, and am car- and flight- free myself.

I joined Greens4HS2 because it’s clear that our position is increasingly untenable, and is a barrier to us being able to present a cohesive, defensible, transport policy that will enable the rapid decarbonisation of the transport system, with the massive switch from plane/car to train/bus/tram/cycling and walking needed.”

eSTHER reDPATH
bROXTOWE green party

“I’m a chartered civil engineer who works for a tier one contractor. I am increasingly frustrated with our reliance on private cars, and the massive road building schemes that go with it.

I really want us to have a rail system in the UK that people enjoy using more than driving – for that we need rail that is more frequent and less crowded.

The only way to achieve this is through more capacity on the network which is why I support HS2.”

CAth Sutherland
Nottingham green party

“I have lived in the north of UK or Midlands most of my life. During all this time industries have been closing or moving abroad. We desperately need to transform the Midlands and the North with new green industries of the future, and to do that we must have an excellent green high-capacity fast transport system linking us all up.”

Darren Yates
Derbyshire green party

“I am the co-ordinator for Derbyshire Green Party. Initially a sceptic about HS2, I have come round to the view that additional rail capacity is needed in the UK and it is vital for the Green Party to engage constructively with the project to ensure it is as good as it can be.“

Ben williamson
Nottinghamshire green party

“I’m a tech recruiter working with companies who are tackling the climate crisis. Many companies are springing up in this space or looking to transition towards more sustainable methods to deliver their services and products. Tech and software touches pretty much every aspect of our lives, every day, so it made sense to turn my skills to an area that’s underserved by the wider recruitment/talent industry.

The world needs radical change and here in the UK that means overhauling our current methods of transport and logistics, shifting away from private vehicles and road freight to rail and other forms of public and active-travel, busses, trams, bikes and good ole’ feet. But, we need to make those methods of transport more feasible and accessible. Oh, and affordable. That’s why I joined the Greens. They may not be the only ones recognising this, but they are the only ones who seem to understand how to achieve it.“

Elliot Tong
CAmbridge and south Cambs green party

“My name’s Elliot, and I’m standing for city councillor in Abbey ward, Cambridge. Having lived in the north of England, I’ve seen how essential it is for us to upgrade our public transport infrastructure. HS2 seems like the most viable way to do this.”

Chloe Mosonyi
CAmbridge and south Cambs green party

“I’m the secretary for Cambridge Young Greens and have been involved with the Green Party since 2021.

I’m interested in the role of transport in building greener, fairer, and friendlier communities, and I’m excited to learn more about how high-speed rail can help us achieve a more sustainable future.”

Ellie Crane
CAmbridge and south Cambs green party

“I’m the co-chair of South Cambridgeshire Green Party and I head up Cambridge Green Party’s policy committee. I’m an ecologist by training and currently work as a freelance consultant, producing reports for the NGO sector on issues of environmental policy.”

Sarah Nicmanis
CAmbridge and south Cambs green party

“I am the prospective parliamentary candidate for Cambridge Green Party and co-chair of the Cambridge and South Cambs Green Party Policy Group.

As a resident of Cambridge for over 20 years, I have been using the train to visit family and friends in my hometown in Lancashire every few months – the average number of trains I need to get to my hometown of Clitheroe is five trains! Therefore I am well aware of how complex and expensive travelling to and from the north can be, and I am excited about new transport developments that allow us all to get from A to B in simpler, more convenient, more affordable and, chiefly, more sustainable ways.“

Stephen Lawrence
CAmbridge and south Cambs green party

“I was a member of Railfuture (1985-2000) and I’m former editor of East Anglian Newsletter.”

Jack Hughes
Durham green party

“I am the son of an ex Labour councillor, so becoming a member of the Green Party was a big step. However, once the importance of social and environmental justice became clear to me I felt I had no choice.

It is this same sense of the importance of action that has lead me to support HSR. We cannot combat climate breakdown without genuine action, and nothing reduces the emissions of the car and aviation industries more than providing loads of viable alternatives. As a Durham resident originally from the south I am extremely aware of the need to improve capacity on train journeys. The amount of times I have stood for the majority of a train journey that should be comfortable is enough to turn me to activism by itself!”

MEg Shepherd-Foster
MAidstone green party

“Full disclosure: I love trains. I always have. I’m lucky to live close enough to HS1 to have been able to travel easily across the channel. I once took my son in a carrier to meet family in Paris. I caught the first train in and the last train out. It was cheap, maybe less than £20, and we returned exhausted, having toured both the Musee d’Orsay and the Louvre. Like many others, I also spent a lot of my youth travelling around Europe by train. The double deckers; the restaurant cars; the incredible views.

Despite all this love for rail though, I wasn’t sure how I felt about HS2. I’d seen some worrying things in the media and some people I respected weren’t sure about it at all. Was it being done irresponsibly? It did seem astonishingly expensive. I went into the Greens4HS2 Panel with an open mind, but a little skeptical. A zoom call and an avalanche of data later I was convinced by their arguments. Emma and Adam spoke so passionately and convincingly about why we needed to support high speed rail. They acknowledged the potential damage to the environment but balanced it with the potential gain of fewer cars on the road. Learning that building HS2 in full would open up so much extra capacity in the north and in Wales was what clinched it for me.

I thought: if we’re going to do this costly and ambitious thing, then let’s do it properly and well so that it makes a tangible change that is really worthwhile, not just leave something half baked and stunted. What a waste of all our resources that would end up being.”

Emma Garnett
OXfordshire green party

“I volunteer to get Greens elected in Oxfordshire, Cambridge and Bristol. I am a university researcher working on sustainable diets and consumption and my background is in ecology and biodiversity conservation.

I began supporting HS2 when I understood what it meant for increasing capacity across the rail network – which we desperately need to meet to make travelling by train the most accessible, affordable and convenient option for everyone. I support expanding our rail network because it’s the best option for climate and nature.”

Councillor Joe Lever
ISle of Wight green party

“I’m a Green Party councillor on the Isle of Wight and have been a member of GPEW for 6 years.

I’ve listened to the debate surrounding HS2 for a long while and have come to the conclusion that – whilst there are some valid concerns – the positives hugely outweigh any negatives. I would now very much like our party’s theoretical support for new north-south high speed rail to progress into very real, practical support and fight to see HS2 finished in full.”

martin farley
Brighton and Hove green party

“I am convener of the Green Party’s Tax & Fiscal Policy Working Group and was involved in helping to cost our ‘Green New Deal’ plans. These plans to reach net zero carbon include increasing rail journeys by 50%, so we can reduce car travel by 30% and air travel by 70%. That requires HS2, and the fact that no alternative has ever been produced tells us it is the only serious way forward.

“I don’t want us to be the only Green Party in Europe that opposes High Speed Rail.”

Josh Morris-Blake
Brighton and Hove green party

“Whether or not you think the cause was valid, the campaign to stop HS2 has failed. As a serious political organisation, rather than continuing old battles we should now be focusing on achieving maximum benefit from the project, and this means making sure that HS2 is built to completion.

Otherwise, how ridiculous will we look when it’s ready to open? Are we going to tell people not to use clean public transport because it required some minor habitat disturbance years before?

Let’s avoid that embarrassment and embrace the great opportunities HS2 will bring for our transport system.”

alexander sallons
brighton and hove Green Party

“I’m a member of Brighton and Hove Green Party. I cannot drive a car, so I only use my bike and rail. I want to see a nationwide High Speed Rail network that is sustainable and cheap.”

Mark Bray-Parry
Guildford and Waverley Green Party

“I’m a member of the Guildford and Waverley Green Party and the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Guildford.

“HS2 is arguably one of the most important infrastructure projects in the UK in recent times. The Green Party rightly see the necessity for a large-scale modal shift to meet their climate change targets, but have found themselves arguing against one of the few projects that can deliver this.

It is time The Green Party overhauled its transport policy and builds on the opportunity that HS2 provides in ending domestic air travel and freight.”

Rob Callender
NEwham green party

“I’m Rob Callender, co-chair or Newham Green Party and committee member of LGBTIQA+ Greens. I’m passionate about the values of the Green Party in improving the opportunities people have in their lives – there can be no climate, environmental and ecological justice without social, racial and economic justice too.

I’m a pragmatic Green – a vital way to help solve the climate emergency and reduce air pollution in our cities is with investment in active travel and public transport infrastructure. If we are to significantly reduce road and air traffic, and the demand for destructive new roads and airport expansion, those journeys need a viable alternative.

We need to hugely increase the track capacity of our railways. Network Rail have said that such improvements can’t happen to the existing railway without causing potentially 30 years of rail replacement buses on the affected lines. So HS2 is the solution that avoids that disruption. That is why I support HS2.”

Alex Nettle
Islington green party

“In my day job I work for Hackney Council delivering projects that help people walk, cycle and scoot everywhere. In my Green Party hat I have been a candidate for local and general elections, done press work for the Young Greens, worked for an MEP and raised money for every region in England as a Telephone Fundraiser.

Back in 2019 I told the Birmingham electorate that HS2 was a money-shedding white elephant only bringing about environmental destruction. But since then I’ve been on a journey. My day job has taught me how essential HS2 is in the travel and transport revolution, and by calling members from across the country I know how valuable it is to connect people by rail. HS2 and more high speed rail beyond are essential.”

Pete Johnson
LAmbeth green party

“I’ve been a Green Party member since 2014 (apart from a brief interlude), local election candidate twice and am presently Elections Coordinator for Lambeth Green Party. In my day job I work as an IT consultant in the rail industry – a job I’ve done for over 35 years. Along the way I’ve picked up quite a bit of understanding of how the railways work.

Initially I was anti HS2: I went along with the arguments of Stop HS2 against the railway, until I found one or two that didn’t make sense to my engineering mind. I investigated and found they’d been made up. That made me suspicious so I investigated some more. I found a lot of the anti arguments didn’t hold water – and at the same time found that the real purpose of HS2 was in complete accordance with Green principles.

We need HS2 if we’re to expand the capacity of our railway system to take its part in a decarbonised transport system by expanding local and freight rail services and replacing car and plane trips over longer distances.”

matt stratford
Greenwich and Bexley green party

“I’m Chair of Greenwich and Bexley Green Party. I come to this from the perspective of how to identify leverage points in complex systems.

“Infrastructure is almost impossible to dislodge once in place, so it’s right that major projects get a lot of scrutiny and absolutely critical that good decisions based on sound evidence are made. Everyone understands that if we are locked into a car-centred transport future, our emissions are going to be colossal. HS2 is critical rail infrastructure that will create capacity on regular rail routes and provide the opportunity to dislodge a tremendous amount of carbon-intensive car and air journeys. It’s vital.”

Ben Samuel
BArnet green party

“I have been a council and parliamentary candidate supporting City Hall Greens increased representation here in North London. Here we benefit from HS1 to Kent and Europe. Before that I was a member of Plane Stupid. I am a member of the Transport Policy Working Group. I find it frustrating that a leaderless movement that was Extinction Rebellion could be so side tracked by one co founder staging protest outside the department for transport, in a blatant attempt to appeal to communities through which the line will pass in phase 1. We need to be more constructive and see the big picture.”

clive durdle
waltham forest and Redbridge Green Party

“I am an ex-FOE coordinator and housing manager, and I have been the Director of a disabled persons’ organisation. 

“The GP has become credal and has lost touch with the gestalt. Humboldt knew this two hundred years ago. The HS2 fiasco to me appears to be about not understanding the whole and that change requires logical coherent steps. Rail needs a backbone, from which many other changes will cascade.”