/u/bloodycontrary got off a train in Taunton to a crowd of members of the public and journalists demanding to know what to think of the LPUK leader's latest outburst:

Here's the thing... this bloke, and his party generally, is clearly just a bean counter, or a collection of bean counters. I mean, listen to this:

HS2 is a vanity project.Only two high speed rail lines in the whole world are profitable.

Because profit isn't everything, is it? Let's be clear, here, the thing itself doesn't need to make money for it to be effective. I'm pretty sure ambulances don't make money, but it's good to have them for other reasons, for example.

And it gets even worse:

In KPMG's report , Bristol and North East Somerset were cited areas that would be made worse off by HS2.

This report is ancient history, for one, and the Liberal Democrats are a party that knows that in order to make things better you need to be innovative and prepared to invest! LPUK would rather cut HS2 and say "see, now we're all equal!" The Liberal Democrats would rather implement high-speed rail and improve transport links elsewhere at the same time. In fact, we've done precisely that by reopening railways across the South West, and of course by investing in upgrades in the north of England!

I have a clear plan of how to stop this catastrophic project , through direct democracy and empowering local people, we can stop this diabolical project going ahead through getting a direct democracy act through parliament.

I mean, this you have to see to believe. This man and his entire party absolutely decried the idea of a certain referendum in the last 12 months, and now they want to use a referendum to... stop the vanity project? Whose vanity project is it now!?

[laughter]

By electing me as your MP, you’re sending a message to the bureaucrats that Bristol does not support HS2.

I doubt the good people of Bristol and Somerset give a damn about HS2 that much. What they care about is a basic income, a fair tax system, getting well-paid, protecting the environment, and getting around easier and quicker. The Liberal Democrats care about these things too.

And I'm pretty sure LPUK certainly do not.