A record number of new members have joined the National Trust this summer despite claims by “anti-woke” critics that it is losing support. The history and heritage charity has been accused by the campaign group Restore Trust of losing members as a result of issues including a “woke” rebrand, which involved a three-year project to update visitor attractions and historic houses to better reflect their colonial history.. Before the organisation’s AGM in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, the National Trust has shared new figures showing that although it suspended recruitment of members during the pandemic, resulting in a 1% drop, new subscriptions broke records over the summer, with 159,732 new signups in August, the third highest-ever month. In October, one member joined every 23 seconds. In an attempt to influence the National Trust’s leadership, Restore Trust, which says it represents more than 6,100 current and former members, has used funding from anonymous donors to campaign for six candidates that the group believes reflects its views, out of a total of 46 nominations for the governing council. Five of the six are understood to have dissociated themselves from Restore Trust’s backing, except Stephen Green, a prominent Christian fundamentalist. A spokesperson for the National Trust said the organisation had not previously dealt with “privately funded campaigning aimed at influencing our structures and decision-making”. She said: “Any member can stand for council but funded campaigning to get candidates on to governing bodies is against the spirit of how we and others in the voluntary sector and public bodies work and we know there is concern in the sector.” While the 36-member council is not the National Trust’s governing body – a role played by the board of trustees – the council is involved in appointing those trustees. Restore Trust has said it would like to field its own candidates in future, but under National Trust rules this would mean it is unable to campaign for them. The National Trust said that typically just 1-2% of more than 5.5 million members vote in its AGMs. However, members have posted on Twitter to say they were moved to vote for the first time this year and ask others to consider doing so. One member wrote: “Can I ask you to please vote in the upcoming AGM? I’m doing so for the first time in 40 years of membership because I want to support an inclusive and welcoming NT against reactionary attacks.” A 2020 survey of National Trust members found that 76% thought the charity should do more to educate visitors on the legacy of colonialism and slavery. Corinne Fowler, a University of Leicester professor, said the National Trust’s colonialism and slavery report, which she co-authored, should not be seen as controversial since it was “good quality, evidence-based work”. She said the trust was “only at the beginning of this journey”. “No history is being taken away. What the National Trust wants to do is to provide fuller histories that reflect the fact that country houses are and were global places,” she added. John Hayes, the MP for South Holland and the Deepings and chairman of the Common Sense Group of Conservative backbenchers, which supports Restore Trust, said he and some other members were “worried that the National Trust [is] departing from its mission to protect and promote our heritage” and provide “places of beauty and peace and quiet”. “There’s a sense that the National Trust has been usurped and colonised by a certain group of people with a set of political objectives, and that’s not in keeping with what it is,” he said.