PRESS RELEASE : National Trust’s 2022 AGM celebrates the best of history and nature as members have their say on the charity’s future [November 2022]

The press release issued by the National Trust on 5 November 2022.

This year more than 127,000 members voted on six resolutions and elected seven new members of the National Trust Council at the charity’s Annual General Meeting on 5 November.

A summary of the results of resolutions voting are as follows, with a detailed breakdown here:

Resolution 1. Participation in Pride – not carried (43,569 for / 78,807 against)

Resolution 2. Rewilding/rewetting – not carried (37,049 for / 84,414 against)

Resolution 3. Ombudsman – not carried (38,985 for / 81,703 against)

Resolution 4. Banking with Barclays – not carried (24,949 for / 86,854 against)

Resolution 5. Stonehenge– not carried (30,670 for / 81,746 against)

Resolution 6. Chair’s discretionary proxy vote – not carried (50,263 for / 70,224 against)

Trustees will consider the outcomes of the resolutions later this autumn before updating members.

René Olivieri, Chair of the National Trust’s Board of Trustees, said: “We are grateful that so many of our members were able to join us at our Annual General Meeting, either in person or online, and we would like to thank them and the many thousands of other members who took the time to vote on the resolutions and for new Council members. The Board of Trustees will reflect on the outcomes of the voting and we will be back in touch with members through our usual channels in the coming weeks.”

“On a personal note, I was delighted to have the chance to meet so many members today at what was my first AGM. It is very important to me that we listen to and consider diverse views on our work and future. We are privileged to have such dedicated and passionate people supporting the National Trust.”

Members have also chosen seven people to join the National Trust Council – the governing body which appoints trustees and helps to monitor and support their work. The Council is made up of 36 members who have a range of expertise in everything from education and agriculture to nature and the built environment.

Following the vote, the members joining the Council are:

Harris Bokhari OBE (72,120 votes, elected)

Anne Casement (72,963 votes, re-elected)

Jane Dean (74,108 votes, re-elected)

Sally Hunt (71,358 votes, elected)

Duncan Mackay (66,850 votes, re-elected)

Paul Roberts (63,771 votes, re-elected)

Will Wilkin (65,609 votes, elected)

As well as the standard voting procedures for resolutions and Council elections, the 2022 AGM celebrated people and nature stories from around the National Trust. Speeches and presentations celebrated pioneering farming projects in the Lake District, plans to improve access to nature for people in cities and the Trust’s more than 44,000 volunteers. They also included tours of National Trust places by bike and by scone, as staff member Huw Davies finished his cycling tour of 518 Trust places, and Sarah Merker nears the end of her 10 year-long endeavour to test the Trust’s renowned scones at each of the charity’s cafés. The AGM closed with a rendition of a song by Serena Ittoo, one of the winners of the Forthlin sessions, which offered unsigned musicians a chance to visit, write and perform at Forthlin Road, the childhood home of Paul and Mike McCartney.

Hilary McGrady, Director-General of the National Trust, said: “Our Annual General Meeting is one of the most important events in our calendar. It is an essential part of our democratic governance process, as it gives our members the opportunity to ask the questions on the subjects that matter most to them and to have their say on the direction and focus of the National Trust. Our AGM is also a celebration of everything we do: our stories, our places and our people. I am delighted that we were able to share so much of that today.”

Questions from members ranged from the Trust’s future projects to engage children and young people, to its plans for Clandon. They also covered ensuring sustainability in Trust cafés, the introduction of Quick Vote for AGM voting and promoting sustainable travel to sites, amongst other topics.