The Rejoin EU Party offers voters a clear pro-European alternative to the cautious, ineffective or, in some cases, anti-EU policies held by other major parties standing in this election. 

We urgently need to reverse the substantial and ongoing damage to UK's economy caused by Brexit. Brexit harm extends beyond the economy and has harmed worker's rights in the UK as well as food safety standards, financial security, equitable taxation and a host of other public safety issues.

O’Meachair, who lives in the North West said: “I’m standing to offer voters the opportunity to send a strong message to Keir Starmer, Labour and others – that politicians can no longer ignore the damage caused by Brexit and that we need to re-join the EU."
For the full text of the Rejoin EU Party by-election announcement please refer to this web link.

The election is on Thursday February 26 and we encourage all eligible voters to vote for Joseph.

Joseph O'Meachair. Credit: Rejoin EU Party

President Ilves shares with Volt the primary goal of building a Europe that is resilient, thriving, and capable of leading sustainable change in these times of uncertainty and turmoil.

The conversation was rich in insights and ideas about both our present and our future, covering essential topics such as strengthening European integration, accelerating the digitalisation of public administration at all levels of governance, enhancing European security, and modernising the economy.

We would like to share Toomas Hendrik Ilves’ own words about the decision to join Volt: 

“I have had no party affiliation for almost 20 years and have explicitly avoided any for the past decade after leaving office. But the challenges the European Union faces today have changed dramatically. First with Russia’s full-scale invasion  of Ukraine and its openly hostile and threatening attitude toward Europe and now with an antagonistic US administration that has upended the transatlantic relationship of the past 80 years, we need to ask ourselves, will our European way of life survive?

To do so, Europe needs to get its act together now. It needs to overcome 35 years of neglecting defence and its security; it needs to create a Europe-wide capital market to allow the kind of investment that has propelled the US to its leadership position in technology that is far, far ahead of Europe, where we need to catch up in leaps and bounds especially in AI. If we do not address these issues we will become the impoverished backwater it was last in the Middle Ages.

Europe needs a strategic Zeitenwende, across all domains: defence, foreign policy, finance, the Single Market, its self-defeating innovation and tech regulations,  the continent’s costly and debilitating energy policies, and its own decision-making. Most importantly, the EU needs to overcome its own lethargy, its unwillingness to address difficult reforms and its internal bickering.

With an international environment increasingly hostile toward the continent, especially with regard to the fundamental values of the Enlightenment: respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, the rule of law, free and fair elections, Europe finds itself under attack from abroad as well as by its own populist extremists. Born in Europe some 250 years ago, the fundamental values of the Enlightenment have brought prosperity and dignity to people all around the world. Yet today, these values are under attack. Today, Europe is under attack. It is time to take all these threats seriously. It is time to carry out fundamental reforms that will enable Europe to prevail in the turbulent environment we face at home and abroad.

For all these reasons I have broken with my promise to avoid all party politics and have opted to join Volt, a party that today is still small yet to my mind stands for all of what I believe is vitally needed for Europe to make it through the multiple existential crises we face today. To join a political party means you share its values. I share the values embodied in Volt.”

President Ilves’ political career is truly remarkable, given the pivotal role he played in Estonia’s accession to the European Union. A fervent European, he has been a pioneer in Estonia’s digitalisation, transforming the country into a world-class start-up and technology hub. President Ilves’s involvement is set to help accelerate Volt’s growing impact across Europe – from the local to the national and supranational levels.

Taking the next steps together on the path towards a federal Europe is a tremendous honour – and for that, we say: welcome on board, President Ilves!

Jason's Info

Our Volt UK President, Jason Hughes, is our candidate for Runcorn and Helsby.

Jason's family live and work in Runcorn and he was educated at Helsby High School back in the 80s.

Having enjoyed a successful first career in global technology management he re-trained as a Barrister and has spent the last 15 years working in child protection; playing his part in trying to keep our most vulnerable children safe from harm; he also helps separating families resolve their differences and victims of domestic abuse obtain the protection they so desperately need as well as helping those blighted by addiction and others subjected to discrimination and prejudice.

In his spare time he is a volunteer kids football coach.

Jason is very passionate about wanting to create a wealthier, fairer and more secure Britain that sits at the heart of a democratically re-vitalised United Europe.

Jason's Top 5 Priorities

• Power to the People

Do you feel that your voice is never heard?

Do you feel that nothing ever changes?

Do you feel like its 'them and us'?

• Our current political system seems to have 'forgotten' that 'they' work for 'us' and not the other way around. Let 'us', together, reorganise democracy so that policy and decision making are debated and voted upon locally. Let us give local communities more financial and decision-making control over the services that matter.

• The Economy

  All our governments (with the exception of Liz Truss!) try their hardest to create a strong economy. But quite simply, there is not enough cash to go round. Many people had their own good reasons for voting Brexit but in reality we have not seen any benefits and we are £££billions out of pocket - this is getting worse each year. We need to get past the emotional arguments of the referendum, and do what is best for our country, for ourselves and for our children and rejoin the EU. With more cash we can invest more in our schools, hospitals, housing, defence, transport etc

• Immigration

  We need a fair and controlled immigration system. The current system works for no one. We need a system that processes applications in days and weeks, not months and years. We need a system that is compassionate and tough. We should not be afraid to welcome and put our arms around those who need our protection and can contribute to our society and we should not be afraid to rapidly return those who seek to abuse the system or seek to undermine our society and values.

• Tackle Catastrophic Climate Change

  We want to be a driving force in developing green technologies and solutions for Britain and the World. We can't do this alone; only a strong United Europe can stand up to the World's biggest CO2 polluters.

• End Tribalism and lets make sensible policies together

  Volt is not 'left' or 'right', in the traditional sense, as we believe that our policies are best created by the people they affect the most and informed by relevant experts, rather than being based on some political ideology. Let doctors and nurses tell us how we should run the NHS and teachers and parents tell us how to run our schools.

Jason's Closing Statement

If you want real change Vote Volt. Only together can we make a difference

Vote Volt

On the 1st May you can help by using your vote to help bring about change to this country and change course from the current chaos and disarray to a better prosperous future.

A Bright Future is Possible but you have to Vote for it. VOTE VOLT

INSTITUTIONAL RESILIENCE

• United Decisions. Trigger Art. 7 to stop Viktor Orbán’s veto and empower the Hungarian opposition. If blocked, establish a European Union 2.0 for greater democratic decision making .

• EU Foreign Minister. Empower Kaja Kallas to negotiate foreign policy and impose sanctions on behalf of countries via an inter-governmental accord. 

• Treaty Change Now. Conduct a targeted revision of the treaties to add defense. Open a holistic Treaty Convention to prepare for enlargement. 

MILITARY RESILIENCE

• Debt for Defense. Issue EU debt for joint, multi-annual procurement, establish a European DARPA and specialized regional industrial clusters. 

• Victory for Ukraine. Use the EUR 200bn+ of frozen Russian assets for Ukrainian defense and prepare European security guarantees i.e., sky shield and boots on the ground.

• European Army. Develop an independent European Command and Control Center, create European strategic enablers, and build the legal basis for a European military force. 

ECONOMIC RESILIENCE

• Radical Harmonization. Remove barriers for companies to scale within the EU via a fast-track review of relevant laws and wide use of the 28th regime. 

• Compact of the Willing. Strengthen trade, technology and defense cooperation via a formalized coalition with like-minded partners such as UK, Norway, Canada, and Japan.

• European Tech Stack. Invest in EU infrastructure in AI, data, and cloud storage. Ring-fence debates and elections via enhanced and enforced social media regulation. 

  Europe Needs to Change

  In this critical juncture, the security of Europe hinges not only on internal cohesion but also on robust military cooperation. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine underscores the urgency for a concerted defence strategy, as the threat to European borders is palpable. By supporting Ukraine's sovereignty and integrating a collective defence mechanism, Europe can deter aggression and project strength. Hence, fostering deeper military alliances and developing a unified European defence force are imperative steps. Only through cohesive efforts and shared commitment to defence can Europe safeguard its future, ensure a stable and secure environment for its citizens in an unpredictable world.

  Do you want a strong Independent Europe?

  Join us and help us ensure that Europe's independence and security is persevered

2024 UK General Election

We are proud to announce our candidates standing in this election that seek to bring a change to the political field that will fight to improve the standards of living for everyday people, to regain our respected international status of our great country and reignite the spark of our democratic institutions to ensure that all people are treated fairly.

On the 22nd of May 2024, Rishi Sunak called a snap election which has offered a chance for Britain to change its current route from the disarray and chaos that it has been experiencing since 2015. We have a chance to bring real and meaningful change to this country and set it on a better path, the following candidates hope to deliver this change and re-ignite our nation's democratic spark

Candidates

• Annaliese Cude

Annaliese Info

At the age of 19 Annaliese is young and wants to bring a fresh perspective to the community of Newton Abbot. Born and raised in Newton she understands the unique challenges and opportunities within Newton. Annaliese entered politics with a profound belief in unity and cooperation and the way Brexit has jeopardised these fundamental beliefs. Growing up Annaliese has witnessed the divisive impact Brexit has had in her constituency and country overall and aims to push for policies that will bring us together and strengthening our ties with Europe.

Annaliese's Top Points and Concerns

• Cost of Living Crisis

  As your voice in parliament, I pledge to promote the development of a green economy which works for all

• Brexit

  Farmers, growers and producers are the backbone of our local economy, I pledge to challenge Brexit which has so harmed our constituency and which other parties won't

• Unemployment

  Additionally, I aim to tackle unemployment and the lack of opportunities faced by too many in our area by promoting local industries, the move to green technologies and encouraging investment in education and training

Annaliese's Closing Statement

Join me in building a brighter future for Newton Abbot. Together we can make a difference.

• Jason Hughes

Jason Info

Jason Hughes is our candidate for Stroud in which he hopes to bring ease to his local constituents and address the concerns they have with the current state of the country and bring about meaningful change that has been neglected by both main parties. He is a father, volunteer football couch and lawyer, He enjoys interacting and engaging with his fellow constituents especially at his local bar.

Jason's Top Points and Concerns

• End The Cost-of-Living Crisis

  Brexit has hurt our economy. We are all being held back. The Tories and Labour are too scared to talk about it.

  Vote Volt and tell No. 10 That YOU want to Re-join the European Union

• Tackle Catastrophic Climate Change

  We want to be a driving force in developing green technologies and solutions for Britain and the World. We want to Re-join the EU so that Europe, United can stand up to the World's biggest CO2 polluters

• Fix Broken Britain

  Vote Volt to invest in our NHS, fix our crumbling Roads and unblock the housing crisis by taxing vacant properties and reforming the right to but scheme to re-invest in fresh new housing stock

• Restore Our Democracy

  We will reorganise democracy so that policy and decision making are debated and voted upon Locally. We will give Local communities financial and decision-making control over the services that matter to you

Jason's Closing Statement

If you want real change Vote Volt. Only together can we make a difference

Vote Volt

On the 4th of July you can help by using your vote to help bring about change to this country and change course from the current chaos and disarray to a better prosperous future.

A Bright Future is Possible

By Alessandro Gallo

The recent London-wide Assembly Elections marked a significant moment for Volt UK, which supported the Rejoin EU party, achieving a commendable result of 62,528 votes, which constitutes 2.52% of the total votes. This achievement is not just a number; it represents a victory for our dedication and belief, as we surpassed the 2.5% threshold required to reclaim the deposit of £5,000. This was particularly crucial as it demonstrates our growing influence and secures essential funding for future Rejoin campaigns.

Our performance this year was extraordinary, showing a notable increase of 10,000 votes compared to the previous elections in 2021. This positioned Rejoin EU & Volt UK as the leaders among the smaller parties and placed us just behind Reform UK, who unfortunately managed to secure a seat. The distinction highlights our potential and capability to challenge and eventually stand shoulder-to-shoulder with larger parties.

We extend our deepest gratitude to our committed candidates—Charlotte Blake, Alessandro Gallo, and Marianne Mandujano—and to all our volunteers. Despite the significant financial support gap with other parties and recent challenges within the previous board, achieving such remarkable results in just a one-month timeframe is commendable.

Furthermore, our collaboration with Rejoin EU proved pivotal. Richard Hewison from Rejoin congratulated Volt UK, noting that our joint efforts were decisive in surpassing the deposit threshold. This collaboration not only exemplifies our strategic partnership but also sets a solid foundation for our participation in the upcoming general elections.

As we reflect on these results, we are inspired to continue our journey, fueled by the support and belief of our members and the effective collaboration with our allies. The London elections have compellingly demonstrated that every single vote really counts. This realisation sets an important milestone for our participation and influence in the general elections, paving the way for more significant achievements in our quest for a united Britain within the European Union. Let’s keep the momentum going and aim for even greater successes in the future. Thank you to everyone who has been part of this incredible journey. Your support makes all the difference.

Source: https://www.londonelects.org.uk/im-voter/election-results/results-2024-0

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_London_Assembly_election

Do not forget to join our Whatsapp group community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/ITiypvDR9QI94pHvRFdhM7

And follow our social media pages:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/voltukofficial/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VoltUKingdom

X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/ukvolt

By Pierce Robinson & Francesco Lobina

Volt UK will be standing 3 candidates as part of the Rejoin EU London-wide list. On Thursday 2nd May, Londoners will have 3 important votes to cast: one for the Mayor, one for their local Assembly constituency, and one for the London-wide list of parties. We're asking Londoners to use their third vote for Rejoin EU and elect people committed to rebuilding London’s relationship with Europe.

Meet our candidates below!

Marianne Mandujano

Marianne lives in Hammersmith, and has spent many years working to improve the lives of Londoners

Hear from Marianne in her own words - “Since the UK left the EU, the free movement of Europeans to and from London has been disrupted, cutting off London's vital European connections. We want to introduce a London residency permit for EU nationals as a temporary measure, and boost funding for exchange programs like Erasmus.

Our long-term goal is to reintegrate London, and the wider UK, into the EU. We will also advocate for more funding for local community organizations, supporting a diverse and inclusive London.

Volt aims to create a united Europe where citizens and residents can reach their potential and achieve high standards of human, social, environmental, and technical development, jointly addressing the critical challenges of the 21st century.”

Alessandro Gallo

Alessandro lives in Wandsworth and is originally from Italy. He is committed to reforming London’s broken housing market, to ease the pressure on renters and first-time buyers

Hear from Alessandro in his own words - "London's housing is unaffordable for many, threatening the city's global status. We want to harmonize local policies with broader EU standards to ensure affordability and fairness, and promote reforms at local and national levels that support renters and first-time buyers, drawing on successful European models.

Our strategy includes long-term shifts to reduce the influence of banks and developers, and immediate measures like rent controls and stricter law enforcement. We advocate for modern, community-based living solutions and a housing-first approach to end homelessness.

Housing is a fundamental right. Prior public control was effective before market forces dominated, leading to the current crisis. Building homes for profit alone cannot solve affordability issues. Therefore, we will restore public control and advocate for more social housing to be built or purchased."

Charlotte Blake

Charlotte lives in Camden and has spent her whole life in London. She is a passionate campaigner in reforming Britain's broken electoral system.

Hear from Charlotte in her own words: "Our current First Past the Post (FPTP) system, which favors two-party dominance, often marginalizes smaller parties and stifles diverse political views. This was evident when the Conservative Party won a large majority with only 44% of the vote, allowing them to frequently bypass Parliament.

This system also reduces the effectiveness of local democracy, notably in London, where mayoral elections have reverted to FPTP, reducing voter representation.

Volt UK backs the Single Transferable Vote (STV) for proportional representation, aiming to improve fairness, boost voter engagement, and create an inclusive political landscape. Moving from FPTP, like much of Europe, is key for a more democratic UK."

London - on Thursday 2nd May, use your third vote for Rejoin EU and Volt!

By Alessandro Gallo

The Rejoin EU Party, supported by Volt UK, has officially become the first to field a full slate of 11 candidates in the list section of the London Assembly elections on May 2nd.

You will have three important votes to cast: one for the Mayor, one for your local Assembly constituency, and one for the London-wide list of parties. Our candidates will be featured on this London-wide list.

Rejoin EU:

Rejoin EU party leader and assembly candidate Brendan Donnelly said: “I’m enormously proud to stand with such a diverse range of candidates for the assembly: we have former members of Labour, the Lib Dems, the Green Party and the Conservatives on the list. We are also partnering with Volt, which helps bring experience from across the British political spectrum to our London team, united by one cause: to return the UK to its rightful place at the heart of the EU.”

Rejoin EU assembly candidate and mayoral nominee Richard Hewison said: “In 2021, the Rejoin EU Party contested both the mayoral and the Assembly elections. As a result of the change to the electoral system and the current mayor’s strong pro-EU comments in recent months, we have decided this time to concentrate only on the Assembly list. We also reject entirely the disgusting Islamophobia that has been directed towards him in the last few weeks and urge all voters in London to do likewise.”

Volt UK:

Volt member & assembly candidate Charlotte Blake said: “In this time of positivity about the EU, I as a Volt UK candidate am delighted to be teaming up with Rejoin EU once again to offer London an opportunity to show its support for closer links with our European neighbour. Between us, we can demonstrate how progressive and pro-European Londoners are.”

Volt campaigns officer & assembly candidate Alessandro Gallo said: “I am proud to team up with the Rejoin EU party for the London Assembly elections. As a European immigrant, I value our community's impact on London. Together with Volt UK, we are committed to revitalizing London as a top European city. Let's enhance our quality of life and celebrate our diverse heritage to bring London back to the forefront of Europe!”

Volt member & assembly candidate Marianne Mandujano said: "As a Volt UK candidate, I'm thrilled to support the Rejoin EU party for the London Assembly elections. We are committed to a solution that reconnects London with Europe, and strive to make it a beacon of inclusivity and openness, fully aligned with our vision for a united Europe"

The full list of candidates is available below and further details will be available in due course:

Richard Hewison (Rejoin EU)

Alex Kerr (Rejoin EU)

Charlotte Blake (Volt UK)

Brendan Donnelly (Rejoin EU)

Alessandro Gallo (Volt UK)

Briony Kapoor (Rejoin EU)

Marianne Mandujano (Volt UK)

Drew Miles (Rejoin EU)

Ben Rend (Rejoin EU)

Laurence Williams (Rejoin EU)

Jaki Airey (Rejoin EU)

Simon Bezer (Rejoin EU)

Jas Alduk (Rejoin EU)

By Jason Lowe

After months of dithering and delay, Sunak last week announced the cancellation of HS2. The decision confirms that the last 13 years of Conservative Government have been a failure. Originally a Labour project, the Conservatives continued the project recognising its potential to transform not just travel, but the entire economic geography of the United Kingdom. It enjoyed wide consensus across the political spectrum through the Cameron and May eras, backed by strong industry evidence that it was the only way to fix our broken transport network.

Electioneering over evidence

Of course, the evidence-based approach did not necessarily translate to the electorate, who may understandably believe the rhetoric over what the evidence shows. The reasons why HS2 is needed are well documented – and the reasons why upgrading alone is a flawed argument have been explored over and over again. We know, therefore, that the announcement from Sunak to focus on upgrades will not deliver the transformative effects that the north demands. Yes, a fully electrified Transpennine line is welcome, but this has been promised for decades – and will only result in a different power source rather than the higher capacity that new lines would bring.

The decision also desperately ignores the evidence on decarbonisation in another attempt to dump the green agenda in an attempt to win votes from climate change deniers, as if the planet can afford more dithering from politics. High-speed rail offers emits just 6g per person per km, compared to 41g for conventional rail and 254g for the type of short-haul flights that high-speed rail would have replaced.

What it means for the north

So let’s get to the meat of this. The north has been screwed over, again. While the South East has been gifted HS1 (Eurostar), Crossrail (Elizabeth line) and now the part of HS2 already under construction to Birmingham, the north is told to be happy with upgrades of existing track and road resurfacing. Sunak has already indicated that he plans to sell off acquired properties on the route and part of the HS2-site at Euston for housing, salting the Earth to ensure that no future Government is able to build the full route in future. The Conservative’s approach to transport in the north is incomparable to their approach in the south, which enjoys increasingly European-levels of transport quality.

At least in our lifetimes, the north will not be able to enjoy high-speed rail between its cities or rail-based alternatives for travel to mainland Europe. Much focus is given to the twenty minutes to be saved between London and Birmingham, but this discounts the real benefits of HS2 which, with Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) that shared track with HS2, would have connected York, Leeds, Sheffield, Derby, Nottingham, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Bradford and Preston with new tracks – bringing down journey times, but more importantly unleashing capacity for both more fast and local services to places like Wakefield, Huddersfield, Stoke-on-Trent, Rotherham and Warrington. The unleashed capacity would have allowed closed rail lines to re-open with the freed-up space at existing stations; Birmingham New Street’s released capacity allowing for increased services into Wales. None of this will now happen. Yes, our cities will continue to suffer slow and unreliable connections between them – but with the tracks continuing to be filled with those services, there will be no scope for northern towns to enjoy improved rail service.

Replanning, again

All of this replanning will of course take time. 15 year’s worth of work is now wasted and we will need several more years to pay consultants and planners again to work out how ‘Network North’ can work. Given the evidence has proven upgrades will not work, the conclusion is likely obvious and will effectively lead to no change from the network we have now. Cynics may argue this is known by Sunak; that he is making a short-term electioneering decision by kicking the can into future governments’ territories. 

We had a plan over ten years ago – HS2 and NPR were funded, and it could have been delivered before the Truss crash. But the then Department for Transport decided to delay the project, costing more in consultant and agency fees – all while inflation continued to rise. The fallout of this was packaged as the ‘Integrated Rail Plan’ – effectively a stepping stone between the full commitment promised under Cameron/Osborne and the full cancellation enacted by Sunak. Each time the Conservatives have interfered it’s cost us, the taxpayer, billions more. Spare a thought for civil engineers who have spent endless weeks playing catch-up to constantly changing, ill-informed Government plans – only to find out their career’s work is now worthless.

Brexit

The problem, really, is that HS2 is a project for a different Britain. It’s a project that was born out of the boom times of our EU days, when our cities were increasingly seen on the European map and our economy was growing. The EU agenda promoted the Trans European Transport Networks (TEN-Ts), of which HS2 formed a part of, and the urgency to invest in rail to tackle the climate emergency was pushed. High-speed projects were eligible for European funding to assist national Governments and funding could be spread across different pots rather than all being on Westminster’s back.

We are no longer in this position. Perhaps Sunak is right to recognise that Brexit Britain has failed. The ‘old consensus’, in his words, is no longer plausible thanks to the divisive agenda the Conservatives have driven through British society. Brexit made us more divided than ever and has made all of us poorer. We cannot afford flagship projects any more and there is a reduced rationale for them. With the Conservatives in charge, there is no longer a green agenda pushing for it; Sunak announcing much of the money will instead go towards a multitude of road projects. The transit projects that are mentioned have been promised and cancelled before; trams for Leeds, Transpennine electrification and a new station for Bradford– though before, they were promised alongside HS2 not instead of. 

A Poorer Britain

The UK is well and truly back to the 1970s with a struggling economy and a Government focused on road investment in the north. It’s notable that Sunak claims to want to save money, yet spend the same budget on less-beneficial projects. His plans for road projects will cost more than the entirety of the cancelled Phase 2 to the North West, East Midlands, Sheffield and Leeds. This is all for short-term gain to fill potholes on roads we already have – not a game-changing levelling-up project like HS2. 

The economic cost to the UK of not building HS2, NPR and mass transit in Leeds will eclipse the cost of those infrastructure projects in the long term. Other comparable economies starting building their high-speed rail networks decades ago and are now reaping the benefits. Britain’s short-term attitude towards infrastructure is ultimately why other countries continue to overtake us; most of our economic success still sitting on the laurels of long-term Victorian infrastructure investment.

Conservative inflation skyrocketed HS2’s costs and their poor project planning will ensure the UK is well and truly broken into two halves. In building HS2 only to Birmingham, the Government has set out its plans to promise the north-south divide to the next generation. In the desperate search for a positive to end on, perhaps this widely-recognised exploitation of the north might just help annihilate the Conservative’s ‘Blue Wall’ at the next election – with a hope that a new Government might have some gumption. 

By Jason Lowe

Climate emergency

In the week after COP26 concluded, the UK Government is already breaking its pledges to transition to a green economy.

The two greatest sources of emissions in the UK are from transport and manufacturing. The UK has made conscious decisions to ensure our transport is carbon-based rather than green. Like the US, the UK decided to build a vast network of high-speed roads on top of the local A and B roads to connect our cities – but Westminster didn’t build a network of high-speed railways on top of the Victorian infrastructure. Westminster established that car was to be king for domestic journeys and air was to be king for longer distances. It resulted in a climate emergency. 

If we are serious about restoring Earth, which we must remember is the only home we have for all life that we know, we need to make changes to our way of life now. Instead, the Government have decided to dump a transformative plan that’s been in the works for over 10 years to instead fund more feasibility studies (you may know them as ‘blah blah blah’) and delay any change by at least another 10 years. Either the Government aren’t aware that the planet is dying, or they don’t care. 

This was a plan that would have made journeys between all cities of the UK quicker by rail than by road. It was a plan that would have made the need for domestic flights redundant. It was a plan that would have freed up millions of tonnes of capacity for freight on our railway lines and taken millions of HGVs off the roads.

Establishing Northerners as second class citizens

The North of England has been shafted again. It would be a comedy if it didn’t affect the lives of millions of people, but transport has been proven to be the number one key factor in how successful an area is. People who live in areas with fast, frequent and affordable transport are exponentially more likely to get high-paying jobs and climb career ladders. 

Let’s compare the difference of a young person growing up in London to the north. Big business has been attracted to the city through excellent transport. Those businesses are interviewing for positions where they want people to be able to access the office, even if working remotely most of the time. Young people in London can simply jump on a TfL (Transport for London) discounted Tube or bus at a second’s notice and be at an interview in under an hour.

In the north, if you’re lucky enough to be close to adequate public transport, you’ll need enough money to afford it – for the £3 bus to the station, the £10 train to the city, another operator’s £3 bus from the station to the interview and after all of this, it’ll likely take the best part of 2-3 hours each way. Of course, you might not even get the job and need to do the same again, and again, and again. It’s simply unaffordable.

Many rely on their parents to be a taxi service but for working parents trying to make a living, most can’t just dump their work to take their children to an interview.

Volt is not against London – all parts of the UK need investment, but it’s obscene that £20bn can be so easily spent on one line in one city, whereas similar costs for two lines that would serve 8 cities are cut. Yesterday, the Government announced that the upward cycle of wealth in London will continue and the downward spiral of poverty in the north is to be reinforced.

Why upgrades won’t work

This is at least the fourth time I can remember that Transpennine Electrification has been announced. Anyone who has travelled between Leeds and Manchester will know that no progress has been made on this – and for good reason too. Every time the politicians try to start the project, they realise it’s not feasible. They want to retrofit overhead wires with 100mph running to tracks built for slow steam engines over 150 years ago. To do this would require shutting down the line every weekend for years, causing enormous disruption and severing the north’s economy.

It’s a similar story on the East Coast main line, which the Government has announced they’ll try to upgrade short sections of to 140mph to bring journey times down. The problem – HS2 was never about speed. Sure, if you’re going to build a new line you might as well make it a fast new line with 21st century technology, but let’s remind ourselves of why we are building new lines in the first place. The current main lines are full. There’s no more space to run any more trains. It means that today, if one train encounters just a minute delay, there are knock-on effects right across the network as other trains get stuck behind the delayed train. With no wiggle room, it regularly results in national misery for rail travellers.

Levelling down capacity

We now know that the Government will not be increasing the capacity of the rail network in the north or East Midlands, but the unheard story is far more worrying. Upgrading old local lines to faster, intercity focused lines means service frequency will drop to most local stations. It’s very simple. If you want to run 6 trains per hour between Leeds and Manchester on existing lines, but you want them to do it in 33 minutes rather than 50, you need to get the stopping trains out of the way to make way for the fast train to speed through. It’s textbook 101 in how to reduce capacity.

It could mean that stations that today are served every 15 minutes may only receive a train every hour – and that train will be causing delays to the fast trains. It’s a lose-lose situation.

The need for new lines to separate local and intercity services has been clear for decades now – and most other developed countries did it years ago.

The UK announced we’re incapable of big infrastructure

Remember May’s ‘Global Britain’? In the light of Brexit, we were supposed to be sending messages out that we’re stronger than ever and can stay competitive with the superpowers of the world.

We’re not just comparing ourselves to China here. In the time that Government have been stalling the UK over HS2 (which if they knew they were going to cancel a year ago, why not just tell us so we could make alternative plans), Morocco has opened 200 miles of high-speed rail, Turkey has opened 300 miles and even public-transport fearing USA is building California High Speed Rail.

Meanwhile, in the country that invented railways, we’ve shown we can’t even connect two of our biggest cities that are less than 40 miles apart.

The Conservative question

Of course, the corridors of Whitehall are now full of fear. Grant Shapps tried to dress this up like an improvement. Everybody saw through it and the backlash was near universal, including from Conservative backbenchers.

For many newly elected backbenchers, this was their chance to show that you can trust a Tory. That Tories will deliver on their promises. The voters of northern England gave them a once-in-a-lifetime chance to prove their worth and show that they would deliver on their promises.

This announcement has just destroyed that. If you had decided to trust a Tory, you certainly wouldn’t now. Unless this Government performs a rapid u-turn, this will be the biggest political betrayal in modern times. Most sensible Conservatives will know this and not look forward to needing to pretend they are still delivering, which raises the question ‘is there a future for the Conservative Party?’

The problem is that even if you were personally against HS2, this was a flagship promise of Boris Johnson’s Government and had been repeated frequently over the years. It is a clear broken promise and there is no way to now deny that it was all only ever a lie to get him into power. So if he is now further proven to break promises, can a traditionally Conservative voter even trust the party leadership? Remember, his whole cabinet was behind this announcement – including future leaders.

Conclusion

No matter what angle you come at this from, it’s bad news. Even for anti-HS2 campaigners who live(d) on the route and have already had their lives uprooted – it was all for nothing. It’s bad news for the economy, it’s bad news for society and it’s disastrous news for the environment.

Volt will continue to campaign towards the expansion and development of the European High Speed Rail network, including the UK’s piece of the jigsaw. Take a look at our proposals to make high-speed rail investment legally binding at https://www.volteuropa.org/eurotrain

By Jason Lowe

We’ve exhausted options on fixing the current network.

One of the greatest cries from critics is “why don’t we just fix what we have”. It’s important to understand that what we have is broken because we don’t have HS2. You can’t get rid of delays if you’re trying to run tractors, buses, bikes and Ferraris all on the same B-Road. 

We’ve been here before. In a previous attempt to cut corners and do things on the cheap, the UK spent £9bn to upgrade the West Coast Main Line (WCML) causing huge disruption throughout the noughties on journeys between London, the West Midlands, North West England and Scotland. Little over 10 years later, the WCML is now at capacity again and the upgrade has proven redundant. 

Studies have been taken out into the cost and benefits of further upgrading existing lines and show that it would cost little less than HS2, deliver hardly any of the benefits, and cause weekend shutdowns of Britain’s mainline network for two years. Our rail network was built over 100 years ago. There are only so many times you can patch up a classic car before it is time to bite the bullet and invest in something fit for purpose. In the long term, this is cheaper than constant repairs and also delivers performance that would have been impossible to achieve otherwise.

Have you ever wondered why many EU states such as France and Spain have cheap rail fares and fewer delays? They started building their high-speed rail networks many years ago with service now connecting all the major cities. The result is that expensive, lengthy upgrades to the old network are no longer needed. The cost of spending years upon years of tweaking and fixing our outdated network is reflected in sky-high ticket prices that will continue to rise unless we choose to support HS2.

HS2 is not primarily about speed. It’s about capacity. 

Separating slow local stopping services from fast intercity service enables significantly higher capacity for both service types. Metro services, such as London’s Victoria line, are able to run trains every minute because all trains move at exactly the same speed, stopping at all the same stations, which are all a similar distance apart. It’s effectively a giant conveyor belt. However, on the national network, long-distance trains that can run hundreds of miles without stopping are held up when they get stuck behind a train that stops at every station. Imagine if we were able to give these trains their own lines. This is HS2.

HS2 will enable an increase in long-distance high-speed services directly connecting Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Nottingham/Derby, Birmingham and London, which frees up capacity on the East Coast, Midland and West Coast Main Lines to hugely increase the stopping service to our smaller towns and cities. With traditional lines no longer needing to be clear for fast services to run through non-stop, we would be able to wave goodbye to the days of hourly (or less) service at our small stations. It would even be possible to increase service to metro-frequency on crowded commuter lines such as Leeds-Doncaster, giving local transport a much-needed boost.

This delivers huge environmental benefits. 

By creating a frequent passenger service to even our smallest stations, rail would be positioned as a true alternative to the car. It would also enable the re-opening of closed lines as those services would now have space to terminate at rail hubs currently congested by long-distance services. This could be transformative for parts of the UK not directly served by HS2 such as Mid and North-Wales, where services to Holyhead and Abersytwyth could be greatly bolstered with the newly available capacity at Manchester Piccadilly and Birmingham New Street. Consider too the benefit for freight. It’s currently impossible to take any more lorries off the road as the tracks are full. Ensuring high-speed trains are on their own lines frees up capacity not just for slow passenger services, but also for freight services that typically run no more than 60-90mph.

But of course, high-speed rail is itself the most environmental form of mass-transport. A Eurostar journey from London-Paris emits just 6g of CO2 per passenger kilometre. Compare this to an eye-watering 254g for short-haul flights or 41g for traditional rail. And most importantly, high-speed rail is the only proven technology that can reduce short-haul flights. Thanks to the completion of HS1, connecting London to the Channel Tunnel, it is currently possible to take the train from London to Paris in just over 2hrs – less than the time it would take you to fly when travel times to/from the airport is included. As a result, the aviation market on this route has been decimated. The story is repeated on the Madrid-Barcelona high-speed line, where rail has nearly entirely replaced short-haul flights on this route.

High-speed rail is the only way we can reduce carbon emissions with the urgency we need. Exciting technologies such as hyperloop are in development but with maglev technology now proven, it still has not been expanded beyond a short line connecting Shanghai to its main airport. Several theories could explain why, but one of the most pertinent for the UK is that a new technology would not be compatible with the current rail network. With HS2, it will be possible to run fast trains from Edinburgh/Glasgow on the traditional lines to Leeds/Manchester, which can then transfer onto HS2 for the journey south. This would cut journey times from London-Scotland by an hour and position rail as a true alternative to the plane.

Huge environmental benefits also come with exciting social benefits. 

We may speak about ‘economic geography’; the pattern of trade that is created by areas of strong communication and infrastructure, but in our capitalist world we pay little attention to the equally important ‘social geography’ that we create. Should we be surprised that our most pro-European city, London, is also the city that enjoys direct rail service to Marseille, Lyon, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam? When bridges are built, we can start to foster the tangible relationships that make people feel we are part of something bigger.

HS2 will open up the possibility to run high-speed trains from Manchester to Brussels, Leeds to Paris and Birmingham to Amsterdam – and beyond into Germany, Italy and Spain. As Europeans, we understand the need to strengthen cross-border connections. Some suggest we should travel less; but travelling is our most powerful tool against xenophobia, nationalism and racism. It opens our minds and gives us a first-hand experience of cultures we would have previously been ignorant to. The more people who travel, the more relationships we will create, and the more we will understand each other as a global community.

HS2 is not about cutting 20 minutes off London-Birmingham. It is about the UK building its part of the global jigsaw for the new, green world that we desperately need. 

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