Why is HEART UK kicking me out of membership?

[DakCB-UK]

I've just had a letter saying "As costs have continued to rise, it's become clear that offering our membership programme is no longer practical ... So from the end of this month, instead of being a HEART UK Member, you will be helping us as a HEART UK Supporter". It then describes what I'll get as a supporter, which looks almost exactly the same as what I had as a member EXCEPT that I won't have a voice at the AGM. Does that really cost much less?

One of the distinctive things about HEART UK is that the patients are full members (the legacy of the origin of part of the charity as the Family Heart Association if I remember correctly), rather than mere supporters being dictated to by people who think they know better: are we all being kicked out or is it just me?

[DakCB-UK]

So if I do nothing, am I still a member? If not, I'd call that kicked out.

I'll call when I'm not at work, but what the letter says is "if you feel strongly that you want to retain the right to vote at our AGM, please write to..." not that writing will do any good and there was no return envelope with my letter (I just went and fished the original envelope out of the recycling to check I didn't miss it).

Why are we "simply retiring" the biggest unique selling point of HEART UK? This seems like a completely backwards move. How much money will it raise, how, and is it worth the loss of patient voices?