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With neighbours like these...Thame MP’s gushing praise for HS2
It may only be eight miles away from Aylesbury, but Thame’s MP has a starkly different view on the controversial HS2 rail line than most people living in the Vale.
John Howell says the line represents ‘an unparalleled opportunity for our country’.
His view is in stark contrast to his Tory colleague and Aylesbury MP David Lidington, who is against the line which would plough through the Vale.
Here is what he said in full in an opinion piece published in The Thame Gazette.
“It isn’t everyday that MPs have an opportunity to work on something that can genuinely transform Britain.
High speed rail, for which the government this week announced its preferred route from Birmingham to Manchester and Birmingham to Leeds, offers us the chance to do exactly that.
HS2 represents an unparalleled opportunity for our country.
It will be the engine for growth that we need to compete, and it will transform Britain as it generates jobs, re-balances the economy and secures the country’s future prosperity.
There are many reasons to support the project.
Speed is one: we already know that journey times between Manchester and London will be slashed from two hours and eight minutes to one hour and eight minutes and there are huge savings all across the country.
In fact, the latest plans will bring two thirds of the North within two hours of London. Easing overcrowding on existing trains is another.
Britain may have a proud history when it comes to the railways. But the truth is we haven’t built a new line north of London since 1899.
But for me, perhaps the important argument for HS2 is how it can bring the North and the Midlands closer together, linking its cities to create a new hub, which for the first time in Britain’s history can provide real competition for London.
People should be in no doubt about this Government’s commitment to making this happen.
But we know that it is controversial. Major infrastructure projects always are.
So where people are affected, it must do everything it can to minimise the impact of HS2 on local communities and the natural environment and compensate generously where it is needed.
HS2 is a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
Done right, it has the potential to create jobs, wealth and opportunity in an abundance that will more than justify the investment.”
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Weather for Aylesbury
Saturday 25 May 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 5 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 6 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North west
