YesCymru Brings Crown Estate Campaign to Downing Street
Welsh independence campaign group YesCymru has delivered a formal letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street, calling for the devolution of the Crown Estate in Wales. The group is leading a growing movement that seeks to transfer control of the £850 million estate from the UK Government to the Welsh Government, citing economic fairness and local empowerment.
The campaign has gained significant momentum, with all 22 Welsh local authorities, the Senedd, and 75% of the Welsh public expressing support for the proposal. Torfaen Council became the final local authority to endorse the move, passing a supporting motion on June 10.
YesCymru directors Rob Hughes and Sam Murphy, who presented the letter, emphasised the campaign’s central message of equity and self-determination. “Wales has been overlooked and undervalued for too long,” Hughes said. “This is a united call for fairness and for decisions about Welsh assets to be made in Wales.”
Currently, revenues generated by the Crown Estate in Wales including marine resources, land, and renewable energy sites are directed to the UK Treasury. Advocates argue that devolving these powers, as was done in Scotland in 2016, would allow Wales to reinvest its own wealth into sustainable development and local economic growth.
The proposal has sparked a wider discussion about Welsh autonomy and the future of the union. For many in the campaign, the lack of movement on this issue only strengthens the case for further devolution or even full independence.
With broad public and political support across Wales, YesCymru’s campaign marks a significant step in the nation’s push for greater control over its own resources and future. The matter now rests with Westminster, where the response may determine the next stage in Wales’s constitutional journey.
