DAVID Cameron is wrong in his stance on HS2, a senior Chiltern Tory said this week after the Prime Minister gave his full backing to the controversial project.

Mr Cameron explained at the Conservative Party Conference on Wednesday why he felt the new railway line was needed.

It led to opponents of the scheme not allied to the Tories to speculate members could resign from the party in protest at the Conservatives' stance on HS2.

But Andrew Garnett, Conservative Group Chairman for Chiltern District Council, disagreed, telling the Bucks Free Press: "I think people who are members of the party know exactly what their Conservative local councillors and their Conservative MP has been doing to fight HS2. People know we are fighting for them every step of the way.

"There will not be as much support nationally as suggested. In meetings I have been in where we have talked about HS2 there was, at best, a fairly lukewarm response."

And he added: "David Cameron has got it wrong. I don't believe we need HS2 to improve north/south connectivity. From what I have seen there are excellent north/south connections already in existence.

"I don't believe it will adress equality and I don't believe it will address capacity issues.

"I think he is wrong but apart from that I believe it was a fantastic speech."

CDC's independent member for Great Missenden Seb Berry said: "Their leader's enthusiastic support for HS2  must have come as a doubly sickening blow to the dwindling band of local Conservative members who have remained loyal to their party since 2010. After this week, I really won't be surprised if there are further Conservative councillor resignations along the route."

David Meacock, who resigned from the Tories to join UKIP, said: "Pig-headed Mr Cameron has once again made it crystal clear that a vote for the Conservative party is, as I said when I resigned from it, a vote for HS2.

"On the basis that actions speak louder than words, with Mr Cameron having repeated the Conservative party's unchanged HS2 position yet again, any Conservative MP and councillor now continuing to support the Conservative party financially is most definitely clearly supporting HS2 with their wallets, whatever words they might utter to the contrary. 

"I hope that, given it's never too late for a sinner to repent, those who have threatened to leave the Conservative party over this issue, and others, now at last see that the Conservative party really has left them, and to show some honesty and conviction and follow my lead and make their severance official by resigning from it in protest."

In his speech in Manchester yesterday Mr Cameron said: "This country has been too London centric for far too long and that is why we need a new north/south railway line.

"The West Coast Main Line is almost full. We have to build a new railway line and the choice is between an old style Victorian one or a new high speed one.

"HS2 is about bringing north and south together in our national endeavour - imagine how much more we could do with all pistons firing in all parts of our economy."