The National Trust – once an admirable institution dedicated to saving historic buildings and landscapes – appears to have let those aims slide long ago. These days, the Trust seems much more interested in politics, as visitors to the Labour party conference in Liverpool discovered this week.

When delegates came out of Lime Street Station, they were confronted by a huge poster for the National Trust. What did it show? One of its sublime country houses, perhaps, or one of those ancient landscapes? Nope. Instead, there was a bleak picture of Dunwich Heath, Suffolk, scorched by wildfires this summer. Along with it were the words ‘Climate Change is Here – The Government must do more to restore nature, for all our futures.’

Well, in fact, it’s yet to be proved that the fires on Dunwich Heath were caused by climate change, as opposed to arson or a picnicker’s barbecue. But even if climate change does turn out to be the reason for the fire, why on earth is the Trust spending thousands of pounds of members’ hard-earned money, telling the government what to do?

In any case, the Labour government has already fully embraced a climate-change policy, most strikingly under Ed Miliband, the former Energy Secretary, promoting net zero and opposing North Sea oil – leaving us with some of the highest energy prices in the world. How Labour expects to re-industrialise Britain with such soaring energy costs is a great mystery.

The Prime Minister makes his 1st speech to Conference as Labour leader in 45 minutes. Arrivals........

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