North West Leicestershire MP Andrew Bridgen has used the people of Ashby as an example of how the National Trust has become detached from its membership.

In an article in today's Sunday Times, Mr Bridgen criticises the National Trust for becoming a 'vehicle for cancel culture and the woke agenda' - rather than an old friend.

Mr Bridgen was responding to a previous article in the newspaper in which the Trust was described as being in 'a bitter battle over slavery, neglected restorations and dumbing down'.

And he described the people of Ashby as being 'quintessentially Middle England' when it came to its support of the organisation.

Mr Bridgen wrote: "You report on the battles within the National Trust. My constituency's market town of Ashby de la Zouch is furthest from the sea; we are quintessentially Middle England.

"Thousands of my constituents visit the Trust's sites and volunteer their time to support it.

"They are the sort of people more likely to proudly sing the national anthem than take down portraits of Her Majesty.

"For them, the National Trust is a celebration of our past, not a vehicle for cancel culture and the woke agenda.

"They sadly regard the Trust as an old friend who has lost their way in life and become distant from them.

"I hope they can regain trust in our much-loved national institution soon - but that will require a reversion to its original purpose."