National Trust acting ‘like North Korea’ in online vote
‘Members ought to be trusted, rather than treated as children who need to be pulled by the nose’
LORD SUMPTION has accused the National Trust of adopting a “North Korean approach” to democracy through a controversial online voting system.
The former Supreme Court judge said Britain’s biggest membership charity was disrespecting grassroots activists by making it more difficult to oppose its preferred policy direction.
A “quick vote” system used by the Trust for its annual general meeting allows members to approve its annual report and choice of trustees with a single click, while selecting alternative options takes significantly longer.
Speaking to The House magazine, Lord Sumption said it had become “virtually impossible for somebody who is not endorsed by management” to win a place on the Trust’s council.
“National Trust members ought to be trusted, rather than treating them as children who need to be pulled by the nose in whatever direction the management thinks proper,” the peer said.
“It really is rather a North Korean approach.”
Andrew Gimson, a historian who alongside Lord Sumption is a member of pressure group Restore Trust, told the same publication: “I am not the kind of person who wants the National Trust to be politicised.
“But how do you protest without being political? I would rather not be doing this but there have been persistent attempts to ransack history for things that are morally outrageous to the present day. It is a profoundly unhistoric way of doing things.”
Restore Trust was established amid an outcry over a 115-page National Trust report that linked its properties with slavery and colonialism in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.
A Trust spokesman said: “Quick Vote was introduced to enhance the voting options available to members… Feedback from many members has been they find it a useful option after making an informed decision. They are entirely free not to use quick vote for either nominations or member resolutions.”