Seems to me Ed W that you haven't enjoyed reading some very valid points, mostly brought to light in a measured and respectful way I thought. The majority of issues raised in this thread are by either current or past members of BCA council, which does give them a certain level of credibility.
If you want to look for the toxicity in British caving then the needle points firmly to the south. I don't know which BCA chair was hounded out of the position but I do know a recent BCA Secretary, IT Group convenor, Webmaster, P&I Officer and C&A Officer who were certainly hounded out of office and, by their own resignation statements, it was long serving members of CSCC who shoulder the blame.
Certainly in my experience where efforts have been made to modernise the BCA, by following the democratic processes I should add, the main opposition to any change came from the same few members of CSCC who always argued for the status quo to remain. The most laughable (in hindsight) was the two year opposition to the modernisation of regional funding for C&A projects. When this eventually succeeded, having fought its way through heavy CSCC opposition, it has turned out that the biggest beneficiaries of the modernising changes have been... yes the CSCC cave access and conservation projects. How did that opposition benefit southern cavers?
The simple fact is that many have come and gone as volunteers for BCA, trying all their best to change cave politics for the better. The minority who oppose change, disrupt and cause headaches for them have remained much the same, sitting on CSCC council for year after year, decade and decade, imposing their view on nearly everyone else.
That's what needs changing Ed, but good luck changing it. You'll be the next one to be seen off I expect