It is with some trepidation that I approach my next essay as it takes a somewhat critical view of one of the most respected charities in Britain and Ireland. The game is instantly given away by the picture on the left of a lifeboat, in familiar blue and orange kit, racing through the sea to effect yet another brave rescue. For this reason I wanted to set the scene a little, something on the lines of ‘some of my best friends are RNLI crew’. Well not quite true but I did spend a weekend at the RNLI Headquarters at Poole, recently. Whilst I was there I met Volunteers and crew and to a person they were a lovely bunch, much as you would expect from meeting them locally or,  watching them on TV. I must also mention two volunteers who staff the RNLI shop next to the lifeboat station that we visit each year to purchase Christmas cards, diaries, T shirts and the like. One lady has a silver badge for 40 years service supporting the local lifeboat and the other a gold badge  for 50 years service. They are all very ordinary, extra ordinary people. Having said this, I was a bit surprised to see that there had been some criticism of the RNLI on publication of their annual report in 2019. Headlines like, ‘RNLI funding burkinis for Africans while cutting jobs’ seemed to have provoked threats of cancellation of subscriptions, on the one hand and name calling of those protesters as racist, on the other. The problem appears to be the involvement of the RNLI in international projects in Bangladesh and Zanzibar. The RNLI is not maintaining full rescue services in either country but in co operation with other agencies, is using cheap and innovative measures to reduce the number of deaths due to drowning. A fuller explanation can be seen in a rebuttal to these reports, issued by the RNLI, link below.

So where is the issue? In my opinion there are two pillars that support the RNLI’s position  near the top of the league of charities that the public trust. The first is a simple mission statement, ‘We save lives at sea’. Yes, I know that they also operate inshore but the ethos is the same. From the drunk who falls off the quay wall, to the children swept out to sea on a plastic sunbed, there is no hesitation, no moral condemnation, just action. When migrants are in trouble at sea, at a time of political turmoil on the issue of immigration, there is no  softening of their response. Political issues are for politicians, saving lives at sea is the business of the Lifeboats. The second pillar is that it is locally based and operated by locals. This means that the organisation was firmly based on common sense and practicality. Loyalties were consolidated through generations of RNLI families, supporters could see the benefits of their fundraising efforts. Observing these two pillars have served the institution well since it’s foundation in 1824, by continuous organic change to meet  new challenges, be it the reduction of the fishing fleets and the rise of the pleasure boats or innovations in  technology. I would add two supporting tests to these principle. The first is, how does any decision add to the effectiveness of saving lives at sea? The second is, how do we maintain public trust in the institution?

To the outsider, the first sign of a problem is the appointment of a ‘diversity leadership group’ tasked with promoting the ‘International Day Against Homophobia’. (Daily Mail, 14/09/19) Where do we start with this? In short, this initiative fails both tests. It adds nothing to the efficiency of front line operations and risks the public questioning whether their contributions are being well spent. I am   wondering what on earth does International Day Against Homophobia’ have to do with the lifeboats mission? The management of the RNLI know that this is a highly contentious and highly politicised issue and yet they abandon the traditionally neutral position and took a side by endorsing the LGBGTQIA+ program. To the challenge that,  “…  the charity has become too hung up on political correctness” the RNLI responded, “We are a charity that our volunteers, supporters and those we rescue can trust to do the right thing – whether that’s rescuing those in peril, keeping our volunteers safe or making sure anyone who is part of the RNLI feels welcome and valued.” (RNLI, 15/09/19) Not really an answer then, certainly no explanation as to why RNLI resources are being spent on LGBGTQIA+ issues.

Then we come to the Burkinis issue. To be fair there is more to it than just supplying swimsuits to Muslim women but why is the RNLI involved? If  the work carried out by RNLI personnel is as described in the information leaflet and they have been involved in the projects since 2012, surely under the ‘teach a man to fish’ principle the work should have been handed over to local resources by now. The inference from the RNLI response, that the cost is a small amount, less than 2% of expenditure, equates to £3.3m in a year when the institution is in deficit. “…  the charity’s £189,000-a-year chief executive Mark Dowie warned last week that it is ‘facing some major challenges’ after making a loss of £6.3 million last year, and announcing 135 job cuts.” (Daily Mail, 14/09/19) Our local silver and gold medal holders might have a different view of the 2% cost to support the international projects. They were very proud to tell us that they raised over £1000 for the local station at a local event last year. I wonder whether they see £3.3mlln as a small amount? Similarly, those that lost their jobs might have a different view on half of the deficit being spent abroad instead of saving at least some of the jobs at home. Andrew Bridgen M.P., summarised the frustration of some of the subscribers, as follows:

 “While these causes are no doubt worthy they are more suitable for support from our international aid budget than the RNLI. At a time when income is down and demand is increasing in the British Isles it should be sticking to its core priorities or it could have a detrimental effect on UK giving. There is an urgent need for the RNLI executive to review this spending. It is the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, not the Royal International Lifeboat Institution.’ (The Times, 14/09/19

Predictably, the usual suspects were quick to label anyone who was uneasy about these projects as racist, xenophobic, child murderers etc., etc. If we circumnavigate the predictable knee jerk reaction, we might see that the real threat to the RNLI is mission drift and the separation of a new management from the base. To see an example of this we need to go no further than the once respected charity, Oxfam.

Oxfam was started in 1942 and was instrumental in giving aid to countries whose economies had been shattered during the war. Supported by sponsors and a network of local charity shops it became an internationally recognised charity whose mission was to end poverty. However, in 2010 Oxfam aide workers were sent to Haiti in the wake of an earthquake and complaints were made that  some of the earthquake victims were sexually exploited . A report conducted by Oxfam in 2011 resulted in some resignations but there was no mention of sexual exploitation. (BBC, 11/06/19) When the news finally broke and the Charity Commission investigated, they found a lack of governance and common decency that not only applied to the disgraceful events abroad but also allegations of sexual misconduct in its charity shops.(The Times, 07/06/23)

“What went wrong in Haiti did not happen in isolation,” Charity Commission chief executive Helen Stephenson said. “Over a period of years, Oxfam’s internal culture tolerated poor behaviour, and at times lost sight of the values it stands for.” (BBC, 11/06/19)

What we had, in this case, was a total lack of governance over it’s own operations which resulted in appalling behaviour by its employees and perhaps even worse, an attempt to cover up the resulting scandal. You would think that after this catastrophe, after the loss of 7000 regular donors (Guardian, 20/02/18), withdrawal of government support, being banned from Haiti and the breach of trust between Oxfam and the public that it would try to rebuild it’s reputation. You would be wrong. In 2021 Oxfam circulated it’s infamous ‘whiteness survey’ to it’s 1800 staff. In the survey it defines racism as, “… power construct created by white nations for the benefit of white people. This power construct has been based on ‘viewing white people as superior and underpinned by an unparalleled power structure, the by-product (white privilege) of which gives a unique privilege based on the colour of your skin’. We understand whiteness as the overarching preservation of power and domination for the benefit of white people and ultimately that which white supremacy serves to protect.”( The Telegraph, 01/07/21) I have given that statement far too much space and I am sure that a good editor would shred it as literally a waste of space but a couple of thoughts on it. First, as Patrick O’Flynn observes, Oxfam is a mainly white institution. Are the authors of the survey saying that Oxfam is itself racist and should be shut down? If they believe their own ideology, why doesn’t the white management team immediately resign and make way for minority replacements? Most importantly, there is no mention as to how  their mission to combat poverty fits in with their racist world view. I could say much more about this survey but Oxfam didn’t stop there. An employee was hounded out of the Charity for the sin of asking why J.K. Rowling’s books were threatened with  being banned from Oxfam shops. (The Times,07/06/23) This was followed up by a 92 page Inclusive Language Guide which was issued to all staff this year. Just to get a flavour of it’s contents there were  “chapters on race, power and decolonisation, gender justice, sexual diversity and women’s rights, disability, physical and mental health, migration and feminist principles for language use.” ( The Telegraph, 16/03/23) Again, not much about combatting poverty but a lot about inclusiveness and permitted language. I will not waste any more space by giving examples from this work but I will let  Maya Forstater (see Note) sum up my views, as follows:

“The Oxfam Inclusive language guidance is a chilling document. It seeks to impose gender ideology on both staff and the people Oxfam works with. Language like ‘cis, womxn and pregnant people‘ is far from inclusive.” As she says,  “Women in sub-Saharan Africa have a one in 37 chance of dying in pregnancy and labour, this is the reality.”( The Telegraph, 16/03/23)

And now we come to Pride Month 2023 and Oxfam’s nasty contribution opposite. The picture on the right of the frame  is a still from a cartoon showing a caricature of three transphobic characters  taunting some LGBGTQIA+ figures. The style of the caricatured figures are very reminiscent of 1930’s Nazi propaganda in the depiction of Jews. What was also spotted was the similarity of the central twisted figure, labelled TERF, with JK Rowling (left in frame), who has also been labelled a  trans-exclusionary radical feminist (TERF). Again, you have to wonder about the mindset of senior management of the charity who must have approved this disgusting caricature. Of course they apologised for the ‘mistake’ edited out the offending part and reissued it because they had to, ‘highlight the threat to LGBT people’. No highlighting the continuing threat to Oxfam employees and vulnerable people abroad, as The Times reported:

“Every year since  then there have been fresh allegations of sexual misconduct in its charity shops, in African refugee camps or in the Democratic Republic of Congo.” (The Times, 07/06/23)

The real reason Oxfam has such a miserable record is, that they just don’t care! Don’t misunderstand me, the people who serve in the shops care. Although why they should after reading the 92 page guidelines inferring that they are white supremacist’s. The people in the field care, although why they should when Head Office seems more concerned with racism and trans activism than saving the pregnant mother who has a 1 in  37 chance of dying in childbirth. Who are these people who are offended by me using the words, Head Office, pregnant and mother? Well a cursory glance at Oxfam’s Management Team turns up Dr Fenella Porter, Head of Equalities. You already have a suspicion of where we are going with this but I will copy her description of her role in Oxfam as follows.

 “I was appointed to lead one of these teams, the Equalities Team. This team supports the changes we need to see within the organisation to further embed our feminist leadership principles, and promote the safety and empowerment of all, with diversity, inclusion and anti-racism at the heart of our work.” Oxfam, on line

There is a reason that they rank 43 in the YouGov most popular charities in Britain!

So where does that leave the RNLI? Have they sunk to the same depths as Oxfam? If we take the same YouGov survey, on the popularity of Charities, the RNLI has fallen out of the top 10 and now lies at number 12. The answer to the question, based on this metric, is that they have some distance to fall before they are at the same level as Oxfam. However, there are some worrying factors that suggest that they are on the same downward path. Certainly, there is a challenge that surrounds the migrant issue and how in the future the RNLI is going to respond to ever increasing numbers risking their lives in the Channel.  “Earlier this month the charity said it saved 108 Channel migrants’ lives in 2022. It launched 290 times to rescue migrants, mainly from the South-East coast, including Hastings.” (Express, 27/06/23) There is a sense that management doesn’t like the local, overwhelmingly male, make up of their front line employees and volunteers. Equally, those who risk their lives are feeling under threat and that the loyalty to the service, built up over generations is undervalued. From the outside we get glimpses of the conflict including the saga of ‘the storm in a tea mug’ at Whitby station. (Apologies, couldn’t resist it) Here, two crew members were dismissed after mugs displaying pictures of naked women were discovered in a cupboard. Subsequently, three of their colleagues resigned, claiming the dismissal was  excessive. The latest clash is reported from Hasting, which was mentioned above as being in the front line in the migrant crisis. Here, there had been complaints of ‘Alpha males’ being sexist  towards women and and racist by not recruiting minorities. The examples reported, don’t seem to justify the headlines but I am open to  persuasion  that not all of the facts are known. I also wonder if the local Life Boat crews have really been given a fair hearing. We are not talking about recruiting for the Head Office in Poole but for a dangerous job where your life may depend on your colleague. I recall a TV program which showed one crew member holding on to the harness of a colleague who was preparing to jump from one heaving deck to another to save lives. Perhaps that level of trust is only established over a long time working together as a team. Talk of, ‘The RNLI, sitting in their plush head offices in Poole, Dorset, are ruining the institution with their latest woke crusade.’ (The Daily Mail, 29/6/23) and ‘They are making us do inclusion and diversity courses which seem to take priority over sea training with a boat. There are no ‘safe spaces’ at sea, that’s why you need a lifeboat.” (The Daily Mail, 3/7/23) do not suggest that Head Office and the front line are on the same page. In addition to this, the charge that the RNLI has taken a left turn into woke territory is substantiated by the company it keeps and takes advice from. Exhibit one:

The charity said: ‘We aim to be truly inclusive, valuing diversity, and appreciating everyone for their individual contribution to saving lives at sea. To help us achieve this we are members of Stonewall Diversity Champion programme, an advisory service based on the Equality Act, to embed LGBTQ+ inclusion across their organisation.’ Daily Mail 03/07/23

This is not a neutral act. It quite clearly states that it’s objective is to  ‘embed LGBTQ+ inclusion across their organisation.’ As such it fails both tests outlined in earlier paragraphs in that it adds nothing to the effectiveness of the seagoing mission and damages public trust in the organisation. In fact, it is worse than this. It has meant that there has been a trickle of experienced and loyal crew leaving the service and forced ‘re education’ for recalcitrant employees will do nothing to change this.

There is a lot more that can be said on this subject but to me the story is about managing change. As discussed, the past success of the institution was partly down to it’s tightly knit local base. As it grew in numbers and complexity a new top down organisation developed where decision making became centralised. There were two ways that this change could be accomplished. Either, strengthening communications between the centre and the Lifeboat stations or, taking this opportunity to bring the RNLI into the progressive 21st Century. The RNLI has made a clear decision to take the second course and by so doing has abandoned any pretence of neutrality by joining the ranks of those who believe society should be driven by equity of outcomes  as against equality of opportunities. The subcontracting of driving a culture change to meet the  LGBGTQIA+ agenda has been given to the social justice activist at the Stonewall Diversity Champion programme. This is a little like being told that there has been some vandalism in the village. Instead of sending for the local constable, the Witchfinder General is called in and not surprisingly finds evidence of witchcraft everywhere. Could this have been handled in a different way? It would be interesting to follow up on the comment about management sitting in their offices in Poole and ask how many times the top management team visited Lifeboat stations around the UK and Ireland? How many times did they turn up to training or, fundraising days with a bag of pastries and  possibly two replacement fun mugs at Whitby? How many times did they have ‘off the record’ chats about new recruits or, the suitability of the ones presenting? It is an expensive and time consuming process to visit and establish relations with your people but with goodwill many of the presumed offenses could have been resolved at an early stage. This method would reinforce the two pillars that support the RNLI. and answer the two tests of efficiency and public trust.  The problem for the progressives in the management team is that they do not want a cohesive and efficient organisation that simply saves lives at sea. They want to be like Oxfam and virtue signal how progressive they are in turning an old fashioned “paternalistic” organisation made up of predominately ‘toxic’ males into an organisation that aims to embed, “diversity, inclusion and anti-racism at the heart of our work.” We see the same rhetoric being  used by both charities and it won’t be long before the RNLI has it’s own Diversity Manager who sees everything through one prism and sucks the life out of the institution. It won’t be long before the RNLI issues it’s own 92 page manifesto to the bewilderment of my two long service medal winners.

In the new RNLI it seems that all things must be seen through a social justice prism to the detriment of the historical goodwill between a volunteer service and the public.  Certainly the example of Oxfam gives a clear signal as to where that path ends.  In the end I would rephrase a comment  made by an RNLI crewman which sums up my belief:

If you are in difficulty at sea, who would you rather see manning the orange and blue lifeboat coming to your rescue? The Hastings coxswain with 15 years service with the Lifeboats or, someone trained by  Stonewall in LGBTQ+ inclusion rhetoric?

 

 

Notes

Note 1 Maya Forstater – lost her case against unfair dismissal at an Employment Tribunal as a result of gender critical tweets. This decision was reversed on appeal where the Judge said that the Tribunal had erred in law. Forstater said: “I am delighted to have been vindicated. I lost my job simply for expressing a view that is true and important, and held by the great majority of people in this country: sex matters.”

Sources

Michael Powell, 14/09/19, Daily Mail, RNLI buys burkinis for Africans as it axes 100 UK jobs: How £3.3million of donations to lifeboat charity are spent abroad including aid for Tanzania swimmers and creches in Bangladesh, www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7464961/How-3-3million-donations-RNLI-spent-abroad.html

David Brown, 14/09/19, The Times, RNLI funding burkinis for Africans while cutting jobs, www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rnli-funding-burkinis-for-africans-while-cutting-jobs-tnctwwl7d

Lifeboats Statement, 15/09/19, Information about the RNLI’s International work, rnli.org/news-and-media/2019/september/15/information-about-the-rnlis-international-work

LEADING ARTICLE, 07/06/23, The Times, The Times view on Oxfam’s attack on JK Rowling: Losing the Plot, thetimes.co.uk/article/the-times-view-on-oxfams-attack-on-jk-rowling-losing-the-plot-vs9j5lmpc

Manveen Rana,., 11/06/19, BBC Online, Oxfam criticised over Haiti sex claims, bbc.com/news/uk-48593401

PATRICK O’FLYNN, 01/07/21, The Daily Telegraph, Oxfam is ‘white’ to its core. If it can’t deal with that, it should close down, www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/07/01/oxfam-white-core-cant-deal-should-close/

Gabriella Swerling, 16/03/23, The Daily Telegraph, Don’t say mother or father as it could offend, Oxfam tells staff, www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/03/16/oxfam-avoid-words-mother-father-gender-woke/

SUE REID, 29/06/23, The Daily Mail, Will a woke obsession with diversity sink the RNLI? Some have called it a migrant ‘taxi service’, now SUE REID investigates how the lifeboat charity is mired in a toxic culture clash
By SUE REID

HANISHA SETHI, 27/06/23, the Express, ‘Racist language’ at RNLI alleged but ‘alpha males’ hit back at ‘woke crusade’, /www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1784878/woke-rnli-alpha-males-diversity-class

SUE REID, 03/07/23, The Daily Mail, Will a woke obsession with diversity sink the RNLI? Some have called it a migrant ‘taxi service’, now SUE REID investigates how the lifeboat charity is mired in a toxic culture clash, dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12252423/Will-woke-obsession-diversity-sink-RNLI-SUE-REID-investigates-lifeboat-charitY.ht