Falling short of our expectations

The views of people are clear with regard to HS2, with an estimated 80 per cent of his constituency against it, along with over half the country and Mr Wright claims over 50 per cent of his constituency work is HS2-related. But in this, world major decisions are not made in leafy Warwickshire, but in Westminster driven by the national media.

So has Mr Wright been striving on our behalf, when he is out of sight in Westminster? Well in truth, no. He has not voted against HS2, he has not spoken against HS2 and he has not written any articles in the national media against HS2.

His reasons for inaction? Well they vary. He has said that as a minister, he cannot vote against government policy, but his old boss Patrick McLoughlin stated publicly that he would expect any MP with HS2 going through their constituency to oppose it. He has also said that as a minister, he would have more access to other ministers and MPs, but he does not deny that in four years, he has not brought any MP’s across to the Stop HS2 cause.

He has also said that speaking out through the media would not do any good as other MPs have had no success. He laughably claims that he has been doing a lot of work ‘passing on letters/escorting groups to the Transport Ministry’. If this is the total of his ‘hard work’, might I suggest, that he could be replaced with a book of stamps and a sat nav.

For the last four years, whilst his constituents have been relying on Mr Wright to represent them against HS2 at Westminster, he has kept his head down, toed the party line and quietly been promoted from party whip to junior justice minister and now to the heady heights of Attorney General.

Mr Wright in my opinion, your performance in Westminster, representing your constituent’s views on HS2, has been well short of what might be expected. HS2 cuts through the length of your constituency and thousands of people will be affected - if it goes through - before, during and after its construction. With blight, up to 30 per cent loss of property value, road closures, delays and at the end of it, all we will be left with is a scar on the landscape, that will be absolutely no use to the people of mid Warwickshire.

With the government ignoring all reasonable arguments against HS2 from numerous respectable sources and refusing to answer questions to justify its case, the only way this government seems to be swayed, is by national media opinion and in that your contribution to the Stop HS2 cause would appear to be near zero. With an upcoming election, it would seem that if your dire performance on HS2 is made generally known in mid-Warwickshire, your chances of re-election, even in a conservative stronghold area, would seem slim.

Mike Haville, Green End, Long Itchington