• I AM truly shocked by the stand taken by Tim Barnes on HS2. In his interview with the New Journal (Tories select Tim Barnes to take on Keir Starmer in Holborn and St Pancras, online report) Mr Barnes declared unapologetically that the money Camden Council spent on trying to defend the people of Camden from the devastation, pollution, and decades of disruption that this monstrous scheme will impose on every one of us was somehow wasted.

What planet has Mr Barnes been living on? HS2 will cost Camden 300 homes that will be demolished – including 136 badly needed council houses. Around 1,000 people will be forced out of their homes.

The 800 trucks making daily journeys across the entire borough will have a terrible blight on the lives of every one of us in the borough. And that is before we take into account the noise, disruption, and other side effects that we will all suffer.

These are only a fraction of the impacts on local residents – yet Tories like Mr Barnes argue that Camden was mistaken in fighting for better compensation for our people, for proper safeguards, and for replacement homes for those who have lost theirs.

These are concrete, real “wins” that will make a difference to the lives of thousands of people. Some will be rehoused. Others will receive extra glazing to reduce the noise. HS2 Ltd has been forced to promise to minimise the dust, debris, and transport by taking more waste out of the site by rail.

We have insisted that the environmental impact is properly monitored. And people who are forced out of their homes must be given the proper market rate for their loss. Yet for the Tories these issues are somehow just details that hardly matter.

Keir Starmer, as our MP, took up these issues every step of the way as the legislation made its way through the parliamentary process. He challenged HS2 in committee time and again, using his skills as a QC to go head-to-head with the lawyers working for the company. This is what we expected of him and he certainly delivered.

No, Mr Barnes, you and the Tories are out of touch with the real issues facing Camden and its people. This fact is nowhere better illustrated than in your stand on HS2.

DOROTHEA HACKMAN
Chair, Regent’s Park Ward Labour Party