Very disappointed with the Trust and the family will all be leaving the NT when membership runs out. Aside from knowing of some hard working staff who were unreasonably dismissed (leaving the Trust without their tremendous expertise and experience), I'm extremely disheartened by this latest 'virtue signalling' response regarding the slavery issue. Of course we oppose slavery but this is the imposition of action taken in response to an aggressive minority. If the NT had provided an informed, member-involved, reasoned and balanced response then people would not feel the same way and not be cancelling membership in large numbers. But instead the Trust has gone too far. In recent years the Trust has decided to hand pick only certain causes in its quest for ‘diversity’, leading people to question what is really meant by this - diversity or the promotion of only certain agendas? Let me add there are many stories untold by the NT such as the nation’s Christian heritage and various other issues of 'diversity' that are completely ignored. Without this heritage there would be no Trust and no freedom to decide what to fund. In terms of our response to slavery we’re right to include different perspectives in a balanced reasonable way - both bad (the horrendous nature of slavery which of course we stand against and find abhorrent). But also the good (Wilberforce, John Newton, the nation's fight against slavery once laws were passed). Let's not forget slavery existed long before the Europeans got involved. And what of modern day slavery which is far worse and far more prevalent - what are the Trust and their ilk doing to fight this? Far better to do what we can today than spend copious sums trying to ‘cancel’ the past. But reason seems to have departed in a world where accusation, identity politics and feelings have trumped reason, debate and truth. It seems the Trust have become victims of slavery themselves – slaves to a false narrative and myopic agenda. The Trust should remember that the Trust belongs to the people; the people do not belong to the Trust.
