Nine-year-old boy Alex Rukin to become youngest protester in Parliament in his bid to stop HS2

Alexander Rukin says HS2 is a ‘stupid’ idea and explains how it will ‘ruin my life’

Alex Rukin, the nine-year-old who will present Parliament with a petition to stop HS2 (YouTube )

Alex Rukin may only be nine years old, but he will be one of the youngest people to ever address Parliament when he puts forward his case against HS2 this week.

The boy from Warwickshire, whose father manages the Stop HS2 campaign, states in his petition that he thinks HS2 is a “stupid” idea that will “ruin my life”, as he is worried it will cost more than is stated and as a result he and his peers will pay more for the train line through his taxes when he is older.

Alex, who lives with his father in Kenilworth and his mother in Balsall Common, will explain to the HS2 Hybrid Bill Committee that the new rail line will run over a viaduct opposite his mother’s house which will disrupt his sleep, while the construction work threatens traffic havoc for years to come.

In addition to his petition to Parliament, Alex has made a video that tours the areas of where he lives that will be affected, and explains how the changes will impact on his and his family’s life.

The video starts with Alex introducing himself, and stating: “I’m making this video to show you which things make HS2 a really bad idea, and how it will ruin my life.

“And I’m not going to keep quiet about it either. I’m going to put a petition into Parliament and if I can do it, you can too, because I’m only nine.”

In his petition, Alex states that he thinks it is “unfair” that he and his friends will have to pay more money “forever for something they think isn’t needed” while accusing HS2 Ltd of being “really, really bad at maths”.

He states: “Your Petitioner has been told that the people who worked out that that HS2 would be worth building have said that no-one works on trains to help cheat on their sums.

The £21.4bn-budget first phase, between London and Birmingham, reduces the journey time to 49 minutes, and is due for completion by 2026

”Your Petitioner knows this is cheating because he has seen lots of people working on computers on trains and Your Petitioner's parents both say that they work on trains. Your Petitioner does not understand why anyone is so stupid as to believe this.

“Because the people at HS2 Ltd are really, really bad at maths and make things up that aren't true, Your Petitioner is worried that HS2 will cost lots more than the people are saying. If HS2 costs more money and not enough people use it, Your Petitioner, like his classmates, will be the one paying for it in extra tax.

”Your Petitioner thinks it is unfair that he and his friends will have to pay more money forever for something they think isn't needed and they won't have enough money to be able to use it.

“Your Petitioner, who started doing video conferencing at school when he was six, wonders if the old people who say we need HS2 have ever even heard of the Internet, Skype or Facetime. Even Your Petitioners' Dad uses them, and when he went to the same school, they only had one computer on a trolley for the whole school.

”Your Petitioner has been told that saying things which are not true is naughty, so does not understand why the HS2 people say things that are not true and get given lots of money."

Additional reporting by PA