AS SCHOOL HOLIDAYS get underway, National Trust locations will be visited by Christian climate protestors this week, calling for the charity to stop banking with Barclays.
The coordinated week of action at more than 40 National Trust sites will take place from Monday 29 July to Sunday 4 August. Trust properties being targeted include Corfe Castle in Bournemouth, Grey’s Court in Henley-on-Thames and Wentworth Castle in South Yorkshire, as well as the spot where the Magna Carta was signed and Chartwell in Kent, the family home and garden of Sir Winston Churchill.
The campaign urges the National Trust to stop banking with Barclays – the biggest funder of fossil fuels in Europe. Last year Barclays provided over £17.5 billion to fossil fuel companies driving up emissions and pollution, a 10 per cent increase on the year before, and a total of £182 billion since 2016. A petition has been set up, calling on the National Trust to ‘Bank Better – Drop Barclays’.
The protests at each site will be different. While one group is doing a protest parade through the site, another group is doing a punting protest through Bathampton Meadows in Bath. While some groups are creating music, with drummers and singers, other groups are holding a picnic.
Many of the actions held over the week are being held by Christians, including members of the clergy, from the group Christian Climate Action. They will be taking action alongside other groups, including concerned National Trust members, volunteers and staff.
A number of faith organisations have already announced they are dropping the bank due to its climate change record: these include Christian Aid, Greenbelt Festival and Sheffield Cathedral. At the time of switching banks, Martin Birch, Christian Aid’s chief operating officer, said: “Whilst Barclays was able to provide banking services to fragile contexts, their record on fossil fuel finance, and their weak commitment to future improvements in this area meant that we had to seek a more suitable provider.” A number of secular organisations have also moved away from Barclays, including Oxfam, Leeds University and Manchester Metropolitan University.
This is not the first time The National Trust has been criticised by Christians for its choice of bank. In 1944, Richard Acland, a Christian socialist presented the family’s 17,000-acre ancestral estate to The National Trust. Last year, his grandson, Dominic Acland told, the Financial Times that his grandfather would be “horrified that the National Trust is banking with Barclays”, due to its links to fossil fuels.
Rev Sue Parfitt, an Anglican priest, is taking part in the week of action at the National Trust Runnymede site, where the Magna Carta was signed. She says: “The signing of the Magna Carta was a significant step forward for justice in our country. We are urging the National Trust to put justice at the centre of its banking arrangements and choose an ethical bank.”
Sally Chapman is a Christian and a volunteer at National Trust property Knightshayes in Devon. She said: “I work in the walled kitchen garden which I love. It is nice to give something back after all these years of visiting but I am really unhappy about the National Trust banking with Barclays and I am sure that National Trust founder Octavia Hill would be too. It does not fit with her vision of providing healthy green spaces for ordinary people.”
Ruairidh Fraser, Writer and Researcher for Ethical Consumer Magazine said: “Barclays reliably sits at the bottom of our ethical rankings, gaining just three out of 100 possible marks in our most recent research round. We regularly call the bank out for greenwashing, and could point to a litany of anti-planet, anti-animal and anti-human financing activities. We question whether Barclays’ ethical policies are worth the paper they’re written on, and enthusiastically urge the National Trust to drop the bank as a partner.”
The protests at each site will be different. While one group is doing a protest parade through the site, another group is doing a punting protest through Bathampton Meadows in Bath. While some groups are creating music, with drummers and singers, other groups are holding a picnic.
Christian Climate Action says “Anyone can stage a mini-action! Just go outside a National Trust site with a little placard, take a picture of yourself and post it on social media.” For more information, see the Action Guide here.
* Visit the Bank Better website here.
* Source: Christian Climate Action