Although I have been a member of the NT for maybe 45 years, I can't say I have taken much interest in the annual voting, bar a couple of occasions when there has been something unusually controversial going on.
This year however I have just voted as recommended by the council's nominations committee.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/oct/13/national-trust-warns-of-threat-from-ideological-campaign-waged-against-it
bylinetimes.com/2022/10/27/the-right-wing-bid-to-capture-the-national-trust-exposed/
Apart from electing the council, there are a number of members resolutions connected to the right wing challenge that I have also voted against. These include e.g. banning participation very specifically in pride marches and ensuring that NT farmland is fully exploited for farming (i.e. opposition to environmental management including rewilding and increasing tree cover).
Members can vote here, until midnight today. All that's needed is name and membership number.
secure.cesvotes.com/V3-1-0/nt22/en/login?bbp=60909&x=-1
Details of nominees and resolutions are here
documents.nationaltrust.org.uk/story/agm-booklet-2022/page/11
(burger menu top right shows sections)
Of course there are always two sides to these fights but I would rather the hard right types that have taken the Conservative party hostage don't get hold of the NT as well. I find the climate change denial connection especially disturbing. Among the people connected to "Restore Trust" is Sir John Hayes MP, chair of the 'Common Sense group' of MPs and the MP whom Braverman tried to send her insecure confidential email to.
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I'd never considered that the NT might be politicised in any way.
I'm out in Portugal without the NT details but SWMBO went home last week (to assist daughter's house move) so I'll contact her for our details and have a look. Ta.
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It's all about what you could call "anti-woke" which seems to attract people who enjoy being nasty. They seem not to like the environmental stuff the NT does and some of the "interpretation" gets them wound up. The NT is quite likely now to acknowledge things like connections to slavery and so on which they broadly don't like. If you leave your house and lands to the NT they shouldn't criticise your ancestors, that kind of thing.
I think the NT does a pretty good job on the whole, we visit lots of places they look after and rarely find much to grumble about, except in my case the coffee machine obsession that causes massive queues at busy times!
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Mrs Z is a NT volunteer, myself a member. Round here a lot of the NT property is managing and protecting SSI's, areas of ONB and on the whole they do a good job, and sufficiently commercially aware to make the what they have work.
There is the occasional stupidity within and they have in the past dabbled into politics, but generally I support the "hands off by factions" movement.
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We tend to join for a year or two then let it drop for a year or two.
We were a bit pee'd off that we joined literally just before Covid broke loose and we weren't able to visit anywhere but they did nothing for us, like extend membership which other places did. We remained member though, and have done a few places. At one we got chatting to one of the volunteers who said they were undergoing a staff shortage (who isn't??), but for some avoidable reason which i now forget.
Last edited by: smokie on Fri 28 Oct 22 at 18:13
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You can get a reduced old codgers rate if you have 5 years prior membership. It might have gone up but last time I looked I think we were paying about £70 joint. We usually spend the price of a cream tea in the caff so my conscience is clear!
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On holiday at present and the deadline had passed me by. Thanks for this Manatee. Both Mrs C and I have now voted, which we wouldn’t have done if it hadn’t been for your well considered post.
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I don't understand why this "Restore Trust" lot are causing a fuss. What's the real motive because I doubt someone would go to all this bother just because they think the NT has gone woke.
There's money in this somewhere.
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>>
>> There's money in this somewhere.
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Jobs on the board for fat salaries?
Selling off excess land to those in the know on the cheap?
Selling it off - i.e. no longer a charity but a business with shareholders / profits etc a bit like Merlin Group.
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I've been a member of NT for about 10 years - the annual cost is covered by visiting around 3 properties in a year and gets used on occasional UK breaks. Not having to get the wallet out each time makes it more likely I will stop out of interest.
I am generally happy with their activities and regard it as a worthwhile contribution to the preservation of the past which otherwise would not happen. I may not agree with all their projects but accept others may have different interests or priorities.
My main issue - why is it kept separate from English Heritage. They would do far better to agree a joint membership even if the two organisations continue separate management. Personally, I am reluctant to pay two annual subs - and know no one who does.
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Well I Do. Both worthwhile charities if you are interest in the preservation of our countryside and history.
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... and there's another £94 on historic houses. We loosely rotate between the three them, don't generally have more than one going at once.
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Yes, we too have NT and English Heritage. I think we joined EH when they formed, in the eighties (?), stayed members ever since. Always viewed it as a donation rather than anything else. They have a lot of rocks and bumps that are free to visit anyway, but never mind.
I did look at life membership of the Trust a million years ago, and decided it was too expensive. This year I looked again. I think it’s a 20 year payback, or thereabouts. I’m 60. Will I even make 80, never mind want to be visiting? Hmm…
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We are members again after a number of years absence. It’s good value if you consider the somewhat high admission charges for some properties. Quite a few nudge around £30 a head. We’ve visited six since joining in August.
I find the politics a bit dispiriting on every side. For me NT is for leisure and pleasure but if others want to get involved so be it.
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We've been members for years, as has been said easily get our money back after about three houses visited each year... we have two just down the road from us, Chartwell and Emmetts which we almost call our own back garden because we go so often.
We also regularly stay in their holiday cottages all over the country, going back to a regular haunt near Pembroke in November.
I did vote after reading the above.... very odd proposals.
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"Quite a few nudge around £30 a head"
if only the tea and scones were included in the membership...
Actually that is a point, at nearly all of our visits this year the cafe has had a notice saying limited range of products, which has been very true on occasions - next to nothing would be a better description!
Last edited by: smokie on Sat 29 Oct 22 at 09:42
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>> Actually that is a point, at nearly all of our visits this year the cafe
>> has had a notice saying limited range of products, which has been very true on
>> occasions - next to nothing would be a better description!
Now that you mention it...yes. Although we haven't done much NT'ing in the last couple of years what with Covid and house-building, bar visiting Coleton Fishacre, and Greenway, when we were in Devon in June this year.
It hadn't crossed my mind about whether they might have extended the 12 month membership. But I can see why probably they didn't. The maintenance and management costs don't go away because there are no visitors, although they did get nearly £70m in furlough and other government payments.
In 20/21 they say their income was down by £213m. Against that they saved £94m, so with the £70m business support they were down c. £50m net on the year.
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>> I find the politics a bit dispiriting on every side. For me NT is for
>> leisure and pleasure but if others want to get involved so be it.
For me it is a about helping to preserve some history and historic buildings, and also the many unique and interesting areas under management. The transactional aspect, what you get for your money, helps to justify the expenditure of course.
I've never been interested in the politics of it or even aware in general, but when a rich .man who funds and chairs lobby groups that provide funding to MPs to further their aims in relation to economic policy and climate change denial sets up and funds a campaign to place half a dozen people at a time on the NT council, I think he's likely up to something he hasn't fully explained. If he's not happy, as a member, he should get himself nominated and elected and go from there.
I don't like the way he has gone about it and when I look at what he wants I don't like that either. Quite what's in it for him and his backers I don't know, but there is a common thread of "anti-wokery" between this and some of the overtly political influencing coming from the same place. E.g. I don't think Braverman writes her own scripts although she was probably ad libbing when she so ludicrously went off on one about the Guardian reading, tofu eating wokerati a couple of weeks ago.
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I was a volunteer in the deer park at a local NT stately home. I became deputy fuhrer to a Captain Mainwaring character who thought he owned the place. It was all about money, the property manager was a ' fine arts ' man who cared little about what went on outside the house, either in the park or on the 22 working farms, as long as the cash rolled in. Land was sold off for cheaply built, pricey to buy housing. In winter, when the house was closed and we couldn't get in to make a brew, we were allowed one free drink in the cafe but we had to sign a book so the cafe could claim the money from the estate, I asked the manager of the cafe how much did the wardens cost him. He replied ' I've no idea, I never claim it back...too much hassle '. The property manager and the estate manager came very close to facing corporate manslaughter charges when a Beech tree fell down and killed a young lad visitor. Lack of foresight and maintenance.
I devised on and off park guided walks, which were popular, work on the historic census of the three villages, even pond dipping with the schoolkids. After the deer cull, staff and volunteers were offered venison at hugely higher prices than the local butcher paid for it.
After some years in my Wednesday slot, having recruited enough wardens, I decided to come in on varied days as and when I wanted. I never took a penny in expenses but it was enough for them to sack me, by letter and even demand my badge back....which they didn't get !
All about the money !
Ted
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>> I was a volunteer in the deer park at a local NT stately home.
>>it was enough for them to sack me
Can volunteers be sacked?
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I suppose so Tubs. I don't think you could sue them for unlawful dismissal though.
Ted
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...I see the NT recommendations carried the day, both on the resolutions and the committee elections...
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National Trust AGM votes - smokie
