National Trust warns of threats from insurgents waging war on 'wokeness'

The National Trust has warned of an “ideological campaign” being waged against it by the Restore Trust group.

The Restore Trust campaigners called themselves "anti-woke" insurgents, with the aim to establish a foothold to control of NT’s 36-seat governing council by putting forward a group of candidates to fill six vacancies.

The National Trust has been involved in a "culture war", with members from the charity divided on how to tackle issues such as its properties’ colonial past.

The debate about the politics of the properties heritage has been revealed at the charity’s annual general meeting (AGM) this month.

The charity has warned that the insurgent group called Restore Trust is seeking to stoke divisions, as members spoke out about their concerns about the range of “extreme” positions taken by individuals involved in the group.

The Restore Trust group have appeared in sections of rightwing press and have claimed that they are creating a “fighting fund” of tens of thousands of pounds, to be used to pay for social media adverts in a bid influence the election.

Members of the National Trust have also warned about Restore Trust's support for the leader of a Christian fundamentalist lobby group, Stephen Green.

Steven Green accused the National Trust leadership of being “obsessed with LGBT issues” and has lobbied against the criminalisation of marital rape and defended overseas laws proposing the execution of some homosexuals.

A National Trust spokesperson told the Guardian: “Our founders set out to protect and promote places of historic interest and natural beauty for the benefit of the nation. That means we are for everyone. Whether you’re black or white, straight or gay, right or left wing.”

A report from the charity published last year revealed connections between 93 of its historic places and colonialism and slavery.

The properties mentioned in the report includes Winston Churchill’s country estate Chartwell and Lundy in Devon. where convicts were forced into unpaid labour.

The National Trust is one of Britain's biggest land owners.