Protest at the Eisteddfod as Jo Stevens confirms Crown Estate revenues will not be devolved to Wales
Martin Shipton
YesCymru will hold an emergency protest at the National Eisteddfod in Wrexham after Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens formally confirmed that the UK Government will not devolve Crown Estate revenues to Wales.
The Labour MP for Cardiff East responded to a letter the pro-independence group had sent to Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
‘Fairness’
In a social media post, YesCymru’s directors said: “Despite the backing of all 22 Welsh councils and the clear economic case for Welsh control over our own natural resources, Westminster says no.
“Instead of trusting Wales to manage our seas, energy, and future, they’re protecting the status quo – where decisions about Wales are made in London, and profits flow out of Wales.
“This is not just a constitutional issue – it’s about fairness, democracy, and economic justice.”
Those wanting to join the protest and demand justice for Wales have been asked to meet at the YesCymru stall on the Eisteddfod Maes in Wrexham at 1pm on Friday August 8.
‘International investment’
In a letter addressed to YesCymru’s directors, Ms Stevens stated: “The Crown Estate has played a significant role in attracting international investment into Wales to support the UK’s net zero target and will continue to do so. In June, the Crown Estate announced a partnership with Equinor and Gwynt Glas to develop two new floating offshore wind projects in the Celtic Sea. It is estimated that this new industry will support over 5,000 new jobs and deliver a £1.4bn boost to the UK economy. This is hugely significant to Wales and will help to deliver transformational change to areas such as Port Talbot.
“I am therefore pleased that the Crown Estate is contributing to clean and renewable energy generation in Wales in a number of ways. This includes investment for Welsh projects to help build the supply chain for the offshore wind sector as part of £400m of Crown Estate funding to support new infrastructure for offshore wind projects across the UK.
“Wales will also benefit from the Crown Estate’s first commercial leasing round for floating offshore wind, as well as investment in tidal energy development and support for the HiNet carbon capture cluster.
“The Crown Estate works closely with the Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales in support of shared priorities, ensuring that these resources are sustainably managed for the long term. This government’s focus is on taking maximum advantage of the opportunities floating offshore wind presents for Wales using all available levers within the existing devolution settlement.
“The Crown Estate’s work will continue to deliver for Wales, particularly in creating well paid green jobs, advancing research and development across various sectors while reducing domestic energy costs. This is why I have worked across government to create a Crown Estate Commissioner with special responsibility for Wales for the first time. This will ensure the interests of Wales are fully reflected in the Crown Estate’s work.
“The work of the Crown Estate will be further strengthened by its partnership with Great British Energy, which has the potential to leverage up to £60bn of private investment into the UK’s drive for energy independence. It is this government’s view that devolving the Crown Estate and introducing a new entity would risk market fragmentation, complicate existing processes, and delay further development offshore.
Devolution
The letter continued:“Furthermore, devolution would mean Wales losing access to Crown Estate investment that comes from its revenues in England. It would also risk undermining investment in floating offshore wind, which is needed to provide lower bills, cleaner energy, and better jobs. This government is focussed on delivering these objectives and so does not support the devolution of the Crown Estate in Wales.
“Even if devolution could be done without risking the revenues the Crown Estate generates, this would not automatically lead to an increase in the funding available to the Welsh Government. This is because any revenues retained by the Welsh Government in a devolved system would likely be offset through reductions to their block grant as is currently the case in Scotland.
“Creating an artificial border through the Celtic Sea would also complicate crucially important work to develop the floating offshore wind industry, particularly as floating offshore wind lease areas straddle the Wales/England border. I hope this information proves useful to you.”
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Yeah, yeah, yeah, Wales will benefit from this and from that, when in reality it will just be the Crown and the Treasury. Our resources have been plundered for too long and much of our country remains in poverty. It’s no wonder that the majority of our younger generation in Cymru now see independence as a viable option in their future. This rebuttal will just see that percentage grow bigger and that’s the only silver lining from this affair.
As per usual she is talking utter cac when it comes to Cymru. Note that she says the Crown Estates are investing £400m, but that is for the whole UK, and the £60 billion she mentions is also for the whole of the UK. She also says that the Crown Estates is working for Cymru, but all the money goes to England. Maintaining the status quo is all that matters to her, re HS2 and the Cambridge rail project, its as if she herself wrote the famous words” for Wales see England”. Time of the union is long past.
Jo Stevens has been useless for Wales.
Imperialist drivel!
Wales isn’t going to get anywhere with Westminster and we need to learn that pretty quickly. We are three million population and we have absolutely no bargaining power and that’s the problem. To move ahead we need to change tactics and do something radically different to be heard.
We could do with more straight talking politicians in charge.
Maybe she needs to resign now.
Jo Stevens managed, last summer, to upturn my initial inclination to vote Labour at the Westminster election. Thirteen months later, she’s still apparently cementing in the reasons for my change of mind and heart!
Getting fed up with these BritNat MP’s “representing” Wales, they won’t even give us parity with Scotland, they’re scared of losing power and influence, Wales needs to take our independence not wait for it to be given.
Think it’s time to scrap the Welsh Secretary role. It isn’t Wales’ voice in Westminster, it’s Westminster’s voice in Wales.
instead the PM should have meetings with the first ministers of Wales, Scotland and NI so he can actually hear what those countries want.
Agreed. Its a position that dates back to the pre-devolution era, and since it the position was appointed by the Prime Minister rather than democratically elected it is a democratic deficit.
The role has been nothing more than telling Wales what it can’t have, rather than what it can have.
I’m starting to think that all “Welsh Labour” MPs have a St George’s flag lovingly tattooed on their bottoms. They’re all just a bunch of bootlicking Quislings.
She’s not Welsh Labour she’s UK Labour (MP not MS)
Why do you think I put quotation marks around the words ‘Welsh’ and ‘Labour’?
I didn’t say she was an MS either. Read what I wrote one more time (carefully).
No such thing as “Welsh” labour either.
“Blah blah blah, bullsh!t bullsh!t”, that was my main takeaway from her word salad of a statement.
If she was honest she would say: “England is taking you resources and there is nothing you can do about it. So shut up and let us get on with the job of ripping you off like the stupid little Welshies you are. Or better still, cease to exist”.
Yet another reason (not that I need any more) not to vote for the fascist imperialists in the Labour Party.
Labour is no friend of Wales.
Never has been. Yet the idea of voting for them is so ingrained in many of our communities that they will never consider voting for anyone else.
What exactly has Stevens ever done for her Cardiff Constituency let alone Cymru.
She pushed for a massive business park to built in St. Mellons. Majority private funded, with the proviso they build a train station first. But now developer can build business park first and squabble over train station later or never. My guess is Never.
I bet she was well pleased to announce that news. Not many Welsh Secretaries have ever been Wales-friendly. They are specially selected for being anti-Cymru.
Make it loud and make it clear. We should not back down from this, especially when we are the poorest country in Western Europe.
Can you believe that we have to ask permission from another country to run our own affairs!!!!
The core issue at the root of this is that ‘England and Wales’ is a single legal entity (and Scotland is its own, having its own legislature). This is the status quo, and as long as one sees no problem with this arrangement, then the devolution os the Crown Estate is a non-starter. Similarly, the HS2 project is seen to benefit that same single legal entity, with no need to quibble about the various regions within that do not directly benefit (of which Wales is only one). This is the fact which is irreconcilable with the sentiments of those who… Read more »
Does she and all the other Liebour M P,s realise they are supposed to stick up for Wales fight our corner but they are no different to the Tory it with Liebour Welsh M P,s they Put England First Liebour party second and do not give Wales a second thought. This is the women who at the time was Welsh shadow sec when in oposistion when H S 2 was announced and Scotland and Northern Ireland had billions given to them we got NOTHING she said Wales should have the same Billions of pounds now in government No you are… Read more »
She said whatever was needed to be said in order to be elected. Look at the long list of pledges on other issues that were made before the election. There is a clear pattern of lies and u-turns yet if people were paying attention, the clues were in the small print long before the election.
I think we’re all coming to the conclusion that British Labour no longer speaks for or represents Wales. It’s not the party of 50 years ago, it’s barely the party of 20 years ago. Welsh Labour need to cut ties with the farce in Westminster at the very least, some partnership this turned out to be.
Even 50 years ago, it was apparent that the Labour party did not represent the people of Wales.
Absolutely no time for Jo Stevens; but there are more important issues like a convincing policy platform to defeat Reform. Time is running out and flogging this dead horse isn’t going to get us anywhere – at least for the moment.
How in the world is denying Wales the right to their own land and marine assets going to help Labour defeat Reform??
A clear majority of people – even among supporters of the Conservative Party – support devolving the Crown Estate to Wales.
Labour’s intransigence on this issue is going to reinforce the idea for many that they are completely out of touch with the people of Wales.
All well and good saying Wales gets more renewables – yet this doesn’t create domestic industry and it doesn’t lower our energy bills. Labour once again showing that it doesn’t matter how much control they get on a local, Wales or UK level they will still sell us short despite having full unilateral government control. I’m no reform voter but I won’t be surprised when Labour loses their Wales and UK majority to them in the coming years. It will be the neoliberal anti-welsh unionists that will be surprised at reforms success.
Jo Stephens has proved time and time again that she is a committed English Nationalist and Colonialist masquerading as Secretary of State for Wales. As such, we expect and have noticed that her words and actions are consistently detrimental and harmful to Wales, the latest case being her virulent opposition to the responsibility for Crown Estate in Wales being transferred to the Senedd. In this respect her Labour Government has perpetuated discriminated in favour of Scotland and against Wales. What’s new?
Well done Jo, you’ll get the Damehood you’re craving soon.
And she can polish the medal with her deeply brown tongue. Quisling would be much too good a name for her.
.
Is London Labour really in charge, or are they just a messenger for the unelected Etonian cabal who’ve been running SW1 for centuries.
Her and her Chamber mate in Cardiff, Gething come from the same pot.
Just waiting for his and her enoblement to hold sway over us serfs.
Is there any point in MP’s when they work against the will and benefit of Wales?
Not really.
Drwy ddweud yr holl sothach’na, mae Jo Stephens yn bradychu Cymru. Yr unig ateb ydy annibyniaeth i Gymru a meddiannu ar yr holl eiddio a thiroedd sy’n cael eu hecsbloetio gan Ystad Coron Lloegr.
She`s English and Labour, what do you expect?.
I here we are in a union, never see evidence though
Referring to this as a union is like locking a woman and her kids in a cellar and calling it a family.
Labour seem to demonstrate their deep seated hatred and disrespect for Wales on a daily basis now. How much longer are we going to let them carry out their theft of our country?