The director of communications at the National Trust has hit back at claims the charity needs “a bit of common sense”.
Celia Richardson was responding to comments from the seven-time failed parliamentary candidate Nigel Farage who said: “I hope that Restore Trust knocks a bit of common sense into what was once the great National Trust.”
Restore Trust is a campaign group set up to lobby for the “[National] Trust’s focus and priorities not to be driven by modish, divisive ideologies but rather solely by its noble mandate”.
It has taken issue with the charity in a number of areas, including the charity’s decision to publish a report in 2020 showing connections between 93 of its historic places and colonialism and historic slavery.
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Richardson said: “The National Trust is respected in the UK and around the world. It doesn’t need anything knocking into it.”
Restore Trust last year put forward seven candidates for election to the National Trust’s advisory council. None was successful.
Voting has begun for this year’s elections, with the former Supreme Court judge Lord Sumption among those running as candidates backed by Restore Trust.
Sumption has said he was seeking election to “help heal current divisions about the trust’s core mission”.
Restore Trust, which is also backing Philip Gibbs, Andrew Gimson, Lady Violet Manners and Philip Merricks as candidates for the council, told The Telegraph newspaper: “We have identified five outstandingly qualified candidates who will contribute a range of relevant experience and expertise to the council.”
The charity has not endorsed any of the Restore Trust candidates for election.
“We are particularly disappointed that the National Trust has not taken the opportunity to recommend someone of Lord Sumption’s calibre to the members for election,” Restore Trust said.
“Lord Sumption is one of the finest legal minds of his generation, as well as an exceptionally gifted historian with a passion for historic buildings. It is unbelievable that the National Trust is not jumping at the opportunity to have his advice and expertise.”
A spokesperson for the National Trust said: “Under the National Trust’s democratic constitution, any member can put themselves forward for election to council.
“The nominations committee’s task is to recommend to members those candidates who most closely meet the criteria agreed by the council.
“This year the council sought applications from people who met the skills and experience criteria detailed in the governance handbook.
“The council is also keen to support the trust’s strategic Everyone Welcome priority by improving diversity generally across its community.”
Commenting on the Telegraph article detailing Sumption’s decision to run, Richardson said: “One of the aims of manufactured ‘woke rows’ is to undermine institutions and their influence. But independent research consistently shows that public trust in the National Trust is very high.”