Welsh Labour MPs must put country before party and support Wales’ right to profit from our resources

Llinos Medi, Plaid Cymru MP for Ynys Môn

The people of Wales are losing faith in Labour with each passing day, and who can blame them?

From welfare cuts for young families and pensioners to the failing NHS, Labour has failed to deliver the hope and change they promised.

The “partnership in power” between Labour Governments at either end of the M4 was meant to bring meaningful change after 14 years of austerity. But instead, we’ve been left with a cooperation of contradictions, where Labour in Wales says one thing, and Keir Starmer’s UK Labour does something entirely different.

One example is the Crown Estate. Welsh Labour has publicly supported devolving powers over Wales’ natural resources, but the UK Labour Government still insists on controlling it centrally from Whitehall.

Why does this matter?

Significant profits

Wales’ land and seabed, owned by the Crown Estate, are worth over £853 million and generate significant profits each year. Scotland gained control over the Crown Estate in 2017, and in 2024, it generated record profits of £113.2 million, which were reinvested into Scottish communities.

In contrast, all profits generated from Wales’ natural resources, including offshore wind, bypass our communities and are sent directly to the Treasury in London.

Wales also faces another issue: councils across the country are forced to pay outrageous lease fees to the Crown Estate—up to £345,000 per year—to access their own land. This situation is compounded by the extreme financial pressures local authorities are facing.

Despite Labour’s claims of funding uplifts for the Welsh Government and councils, these increases have not been enough to meet the growing needs of local authorities. Councils are still facing massive deficits, leading to either cuts to essential services or higher council tax, which places an added burden on already struggling families.

If Wales had control over the Crown Estate, these unfair lease fees could be scrapped while also keeping the profits generated in Wales to benefit our communities—a win-win situation.

Grassroots support

Grassroots support for this is growing too with over 58% of people in Wales backing the devolution of the Crown Estate and more than half of Welsh councils have passed motions in favour.

Earlier in February, I tabled an amendment to the Crown Estate Bill that would require the UK Treasury to transfer the management of the Crown Estate’s assets in Wales to the Welsh Government to ensure that profits generated from Welsh land and seabed benefit the people of Wales directly. But Labour MPs voted it down, undermining the so-called “partnership in power” between Cardiff and London.

While Eluned Morgan claims she’s been “fighting very hard” for more control over Wales’ Crown Estate assets, her colleagues in Westminster have repeatedly failed to act.

Welsh Labour MP Nia Griffith even dismissed the idea of devolving the Crown Estate as a “waste of time.”

Ensuring that people have more money in their pockets doesn’t seem like a waste of time to me. If Scotland gained these powers in 2017, why should Wales be denied the same rights?

Natural resources

As a country, we are rich in natural resources like sea, water, and wind power. We simply need the powers to capitalize on these resources for the benefit of our people and communities. But it’s the same old story where our natural wealth, from coal and copper to steel and slate, has been asset-stripped, and our communities have been left to struggle, while the wealth we generate is siphoned off elsewhere. It’s time for this to change.

That’s why today’s debate on the Crown Estate Bill (24 February) is so crucial. I’ve re-tabled my amendment to devolve the Crown Estate Wales as this will be our last opportunity to include devolution in this Bill.

I’ve urged the people of Wales to ask their MPs to support my amendment. Labour MPs must be reminded that they are elected to represent their constituents and the interests of their people. I can’t think of a better way for them to do so than by supporting this amendment, ensuring that wealth stays in Wales for the benefit of our communities.

At a time when extremist politics are on the rise, and trust in democracy is waning, I fear that Labour’s failure to put country before party could lead us down a very dangerous path.

Plaid Cymru has been clear and consistent in our call for fairness for Wales. Now, it’s time for Labour to prove that their “partnership in power” isn’t just an empty slogan. The people of Wales are watching, and it’s time for Labour to show they can be trusted to deliver the change we desperately need.