National Trust members demand creation of independent watchdog

Campaigners concerned with the charity’s ‘woke’ direction call for overhaul to make it accountable to its members

Christopher Hope | The Telegraph | 19 June 2022

This article was first published by the Telegraph on 19 June 2022

The National Trust could be forced to appoint its own watchdog to ensure it is accountable to its members, volunteers and tenants.

Restore Trust, a campaign group made up of the charity’s members, also wants to abolish discretionary votes by the chairman at the annual meeting, which means that the views of individual members can be overruled.

It has submitted two resolutions calling for the changes earlier this month. They are set to be debated at what could be a stormy meeting of the National Trust this October. The National Trust could be forced to appoint its own watchdog to ensure it is accountable to its members, volunteers and tenants.

Motions passed by members at the meeting are not binding on the National Trust’s board, but would be hard for the Trust to ignore. 

The news came as Restore Trust organised a series of events around the UK – including at Houghton Hall in Norfolk, Shilstone House in Devon, and a property in East Sussex over the next three months – with historians including David Goodhart looking to raise awareness among members. Others are planned for Northern England and Northern Ireland.

The campaign group is concerned that while the NHS, parliament, local authorities, universities and many other important public organisations have ombudsmen, the National Trust – in spite of the fact that it is one of the largest membership organisations in the world – does not benefit from one.

Complaints about the National Trust’s behaviour are dealt with by the chairman, who is not seen as independent of the Trust’s board.

While the Charity Commission regulates charities, including the National Trust, it does not investigate individual problems in the way that an independent ombudsman could.

The campaigners said that the existence of an independent ombudsman would encourage the organisation to establish procedures to effectively and transparently deal with complaints at an early stage, so that the intervention of an external ombudsman is rarely needed.

Cornelia van der Poll, a spokesman for Restore Trust, said: “It is important that the National Trust is seen to be accountable. As the nation’s largest private landowner, in particular, the charity is a powerful force in shaping the future of our countryside.”

A National Trust spokesman said: “We’re looking forward to our AGM and will be sharing this year’s resolutions with our members shortly. Like all charities, we’re held to account by the Charity Commission.”

The National Trust has found itself increasingly at odds with some of its members concerned about the apparently “woke” direction of its leadership. 

In May 2021, Tim Parker quit a seven-year term as chairman which has seen the Trust involved in a series of controversies.

He stood down after it emerged that Restore Trust wanted him to resign, although the Trust insisted this had no bearing on Mr Parker’s decision.

At the annual meeting in Nov 2020, he came under fire after describing Black Lives Matter, which in the UK has called on the Government to “defund the police”, as a “human rights movement with no party-political affiliations” in a letter to a member.

That came after the Trust published a report in Sep 2020 into the links between its properties, including the home of Sir Winston Churchill, and the UK’s colonial and slavery past.

There was further controversy in 2017 when it emerged that the Trust had tried to force volunteers at a Norfolk mansion to wear the gay pride rainbow symbol on lanyards and badges. It later dropped the demand.