Tory grass roots rebellion over high speed rail Other councillors on the route, which cuts a swathe through the Tory heartlands of Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire, are also expected to consider whether they wish to retain the Conservative whip. I have been fighting HS2 and I am disappointed that it is going through the Chilterns. I believe we need to protect the Green Belt. There will be a lot of people along the route who will quit the party and I have also spoken to a lot of people who said they will never vote Conservative again. "I will not vote Conservative at the next election, I will not vote at all," Mr King added. Martin Tett, the leader of Buckinghamshire County Council and one of the most outspoken critics of the project, hoped to avoid defections. "If we had not taken a stand, we clearly would have been wiped out in local elections," he said. But we are facing a backlash from members of all three major parties against their national parties.