The Tories and their allies are targeting soft power centres to push a reactionary agenda
Phyllis Schlafly, whose drives against abortion and female equality galvanised conservatives and helped reshape America, used to compare political campaigns to an iceberg with “eight-ninths under the surface”. Her army was invisible – until it was required. Then it would appear out of thin air when a crucial vote was to take place, armed with horror stories about what the passage of a progressive change would entail. Ms Schlafly’s rhetorical tactic was to remain reasonable-sounding, despite peddling alarming arguments, until an exasperated adversary lost their sang-froid in response. It is a playbook now, alas, being deployed against the National Trust, which looks after scores of the country’s historic houses, gardens and landscapes. After a year of weathering unfounded attacks, the charity this week broke cover to say it was facing an ideological campaign from a little-known group that it claims is trying to sow division.
It’s hard to disagree. A slate of conservatives, backed by an organisation called Restore Trust (RT), is running for election for six vacant seats on the charity’s 36-strong consultative council. One candidate supported by RT – Stephen Green – vows to take the trust “back to its founding principles … and to end its promotion of fashionable ‘woke’ causes”. The council is the National Trust’s “guardian spirit”, with a say over trustee appointments. Mr Green is the leader of a Christian fundamentalist lobby group, who accuses the trust’s leadership of being “obsessed with LGBT issues”. The vote takes place at the trust’s AGM this month.
