The Crown Estate trap

Gwern Gwynfil, CEO of YesCymru

The people of Wales continue to be robbed. The staggering asset value of the Crown Estate in Wales, none of which belongs to the people of Wales, with not a penny of the profits staying in Wales, makes this clear.

Welsh politicians have woken up and have begun to call for the assets and profits of the Crown Estate to be devolved. A YesCymru poll conducted by YouGov showed that 75% of the people of Wales believe that the Estate should belong to Wales. A statistic which makes a mockery of, then Secretary of State for Wales, Simon Hart’s, recent claim that ‘there is no appetite for Crown Estate devolution in Wales’. A statement showing how out of touch he and Westminster are with the Welsh constituency.

Meanwhile, the current Welsh Office incumbent, David TC Davies, thinks the people of Wales are either incompetent or children (or both), ‘too risky to devolve the Crown Estate to Wales’ apparently.

But Wales has begun to raise its voice. Support for Independence has grown at pace. YesCymru has become the mouthpiece for that growth, for that new confidence, for the ambition to be a grown up, to have agency, to take charge of our assets and make use of them for the benefit of the people who live here in Wales.

That support has created the platform to bring the Crown Estate, alongside HS2’s absurd categorisation as an ‘England and Wales’ project, to the forefront of politics in Wales.

People in Wales have a keen sense of justice and fairness. Wales is not being treated justly, fairly or with respect by its Westminster master.

There is a trap here though. When support for Welsh Independence tops 40% consistently in the polls, as it surely will, those Westminster masters of the old Empire may see an easy win in ‘gifting’ the Crown Estates and the HS2 consequentials to the Senedd. ‘Look peons, you do not need Independence, see our magnanimity in giving you these riches, let us look after you, let us manage your affairs and set your priorities, we still know best after all’.

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Repatriation

Wales should certainly welcome this when it happens - these are Welsh assets after all. No more than a repatriation of stolen goods. When Wales does gain control of the Crown Estates it will be a win for those who started these campaigns and those politicians who are now pursuing it. But bittersweet, as victories go, as it will inevitably be used as a tool to try to steal the momentum from a growing independence movement.

Of course this won’t work.

Anyone in Wales, whatever their background, origin or language, who takes a clear eyed look at the Union soon realises that it no longer has anything to offer Wales.

Today, Wales has the highest inflation rate in the UK, the lowest income growth and is starting out as the poorest part of the Union.

Wales is getting poorer, faster, than everywhere else in the UK at a time when the whole of the UK is becoming poorer. Meanwhile the richest 5% in the UK (none of which live in Wales) continue to grow their wealth at the expense of everyone else.

Wales can do better. Wales deserves better. The people of Wales must leave the Union to save themselves. Building a brighter future for their, for our, children.

There is broad recognition that the United Kingdom is nearing the end of its days. Northern Ireland is on the way out, Scotland is simply waiting for its opportunity to leave. Many accept that independence will come ‘but not in my lifetime’.

Why wait?

The sooner Wales breaks free, the sooner we can create a new relationship with a newly independent England and a newly independent Scotland. The sooner Wales takes its place on the international stage, the sooner we can foster and nurture close relationships with other nations across the globe. Small, successful vibrant nations like Ireland, Slovenia, Estonia, Croatia, New Zealand and many more.

There were less than a hundred sovereign nations in the world at the end of the Second World War in 1945. Today there are 195 sovereign states in the world.

Independence is normal.