This column appears as part of the Winds of Change newsletter.

Some leaders appear to think they have a Teflon coating. It’s extraordinary, their ability to to dig in harder when the calls keep coming for their resignation.

And no, I’m not talking, late-in-the-day, about Keir Starmer, who has now made way for Andy Burnham, and to whom the egg really did seem to stick. I refer to two key figures in the world of Scottish environmental charities, the CEO and chair of the John Muir Trust.

Yet again last week there were calls for their resignation. This time from head of policy at the charity, Thomas Widrow, who, in a LinkedIn resignation post, said: “The John Muir Trust is being led over a cliff-edge, and I need your help to stop it.”

This was nothing new. Last year when in the run up to its AGM, I covered the crisis at Scotland’s prestigious wild places charity, numerous former staff members and a former chair made calls for CEO, David Balharry and chair, Jane Smallman, to go.

“An unforgiveable failure of leadership” and a “toxic closed shop” were among the stand-out phrases used as these calls were made.

But, in spite of the criticisms, they didn’t budge.

The AGM came and went, and over the following months, the calls were repeated by other members and trustees.

What was said to have been done wrong? Well, there had been the financial crisis in 2024, which had led to redundancies, the suspension of the chair over allegations, and then his later reinstatement following investigation, plus other criticisms around governance and transparency, and even an online 'dossier' on the charity's recent trouble.

I spoke to David Balharry himself in December. We touched on his suspension, following misconduct allegations, three years after he took the position of CEO in 2020.

He had returned to work, having been declared “fully........

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