No Restore Trust candidates were elected to the National Trust’s Council
Members of the National Trust voted to elect members of the organisation’s Council last month, with the results being announced at its AGM on November 2. As in previous years, the ‘anti-woke’ group Restore Trust attempted to use the elections to stage a right wing takeover of the National Trust.
Restore Trust has drawn issue with a number of policies and positions adopted by the National Trust in recent years. In particular, the group has criticised the National Trust’s reports linking some of its properties to slavery and colonialism.
Despite the group having long had extensive coverage and support from the right wing press, Restore Trust has consistently failed to get its candidates elected to the Council, losing comprehensively in 2022 and 2023.
2024, it turns out, was no different. Restore Trust’s six candidates together received a total of 110,853 votes in the election. By contrast, the six successfully elected candidates – all of whom were endorsed by the National Trust’s nominations committee – received 256,308 votes.
As a result, the Restore Trust candidates picked up significantly less than half the votes that the winning candidates received.
Alongside the election to the Council, the AGM also saw National Trust members vote on a number of resolutions regarding the organisation’s policies and practices. Members voted for the National Trust to make 50% of the food in its cafes vegan, and to support the introduction of a new Climate and Nature Bill.
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
To reach hundreds of thousands of new readers we need to grow our donor base substantially.
That’s why in 2024, we are seeking to generate 150 additional regular donors to support Left Foot Forward’s work.
We still need another 117 people to donate to hit the target. You can help. Donate today.
