The National Trust is set to face fierce opposition at its AGM as “anti-woke insurgents” vie for election to its ruling council.
Campaign group Restore Trust has submitted two resolutions and is promoting seven candidates for the National Trust’s election.
Restore Trust-backed candidates include former fund manager and Tory donor Philip Gibbs, conservative historians Jeremy Black and Zareer Masani, and Bola Anike, an activist who has campaigned against critical race theory being taught in schools.
Restore Trust’s resolutions state that the ruling council chairman’s discretionary proxy vote on members’ resolutions should be abolished and that an independent office of Ombudsman should be created to “ensure that the National Trust is accountable to its stakeholders and is able to resolve complaints effectively”.
The results will be revealed at the AGM in Bath on 5 November.
According to its website, Restore Trust is a “forum” where members can express their concerns about the way the NT carries out its mission.
The group was formed in reaction to the heritage charity’s perceived “distraction of ephemeral trends and political activism”.
The aims of Restore Trust include re-establishing the NT’s “original apolitical ethos” and restoring “a sense of welcome for all visitors without demonising anyone’s history or heritage”, its website says.
This will be the second year that the group has taken part in the National Trust AGM after it put forward three resolutions and six preferred candidates in 2021.
Last year, three of Restore Trust’s preferred candidates were elected. However, one of them – Guy Trehane – denied any affiliation with the group
Its 2021 resolution calling for greater transparency on senior staff pay was passed after the NT encouraged members to vote in favour, saying it was confident that it already complied with the resolution.
According to Restore Trust’s campaign leaflet, its seven preferred candidates this year would “hold the [National Trust] trustees accountable and will not rubber stamp decisions without proper scrutiny”.
Last month, Home Secretary Suella Braverman was reported to have called for greater effort from the Conservative Party to put people with its agenda forward for roles in public institutions, including the National Trust.
Rachel Wearmouth, deputy political editor at the New Statesman, reported on Twitter that Braverman told the Conservative Party Conference that “they [the left] are very organised… We don’t prepare, we don’t organise, and I think that’s something we’ve taken for granted”.