National Trust Council Elections 2023

National Trust members have recently been sent their AGM Booklet which includes details about the meeting being held at 10am on Saturday, 11th November, at STEAM – Museum of the Great Western Railway in Swindon. 

The Trust’s members are invited to register their interest if they wish to attend the meeting in person or online. All members have the option to vote on the members’ resolutions either at the meeting or online. Full details regarding the voting process - including the voting deadlines and how to attend the meeting - can be found in the AGM Booklet.

National Trust Council Elections 

Members of the National Trust have been invited to elect up to five candidates for the Council ahead of the AGM. The main responsibilities of the council are to appoint the Trust’s Chair, deputy chair and members of the Board of Trustees (the NT’s governing body) and to hold them to account. Voting for candidates closes at 11:59pm on Friday, 3rd November.

The Trust has recommended five candidates and whilst they are undoubtedly all worthy individuals, we remain concerned that the Trust’s Council is not fully representative of those whose lives the organisation can affect the most. In particular, there are very few Council members with direct experience of farming, rural business or sustaining rural communities. 

On the basis of the information we have about the candidates standing for election, we suggest that you consider voting for the following five candidates – 

Philip Gibbs
Violet Manners
Jim McRobert
Michael Salter-Church 
Philip Merricks

Tim Bonner, Chief Executive of the Countryside Alliance said: “We believe all five candidates have the skills and experience which would help to create a more representative NT Council.”

The Alliance can appreciate that our mutual members seek to identify the most beneficial use of their votes throughout this process but we are reluctant to offer further advice relating to other candidates where there is a lack of certainty regarding their views on matters which are so important to our members.