Crown Estate Bill [Lords]

Dave Robertson Excerpts

2nd reading
Tuesday 7th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dave Robertson (Lichfield) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to take part in this debate alongside so many of my coastal colleagues. It puts me in slightly odd company, because Lichfield, Burntwood and the villages are quite a long way from the edge. We are quite a long way from the coast, but it is important to have some representation from the middle of England. When we look at the desired outcomes of the Bill and what it will mean for constituents across England, Wales and Scotland in coastal and non-coastal communities, it is about growth and jobs. Very few of those jobs in floating offshore wind are likely to be along the River Trent, but this is about building a country that works for everybody across the country for the future.

In my constituency, I am fortunate to have an agricultural Crown Estate holding. A wonderful strength of the Crown Estate is that it supports so much agriculture across the country—that most traditional and important of industries which provides us with the food we eat. It is a real strength of our country that so much of the land in the Crown Estate is leased out to farmers who can go off and do their thing and run their business.

The Bill seeks to update the Crown Estate. No legislation relating to the Crown Estate has been passed since 1961—24 years before there was a Dave Robertson. By updating the Crown Estate, we make it ready for the 21st century. As of about a week ago, we are now in the second quarter of the 21st century, a fact I am struggling to compute. Making changes to allow the Crown Estate to invest in the industries of the future will bring jobs and investment into the UK. That will grow our economy, which will be felt across the entire country, tackling real pockets of deprivation, particularly around the coast. That will in itself be beneficial, unlocking economic growth and driving wealth creation right across the UK. It will also drive investment everywhere. The simple fact is that we now have another large investor operating in the UK, meaning that other investors will be able to seek other opportunities. If any are listening, please have a chat with me; there are some sites I would like to talk to them about, particularly Burntwood town centre.

Alongside that point, there is another really important issue. There has perhaps not been enough focus on the real value of the Bill in helping us to reach our net zero goals. This week, in large parts of my constituency a large number of farmers have again found their fields replaced by some type of aquatic environment because of flooding. Yet again, King’s Bromley has almost been cut off. Climate change is real. Climate change is here. It is having an economic impact and a social impact—a real-world impact. We need to take steps to achieve our goals. Allowing the Crown Estate to partner with Great British Energy in the way the Bill proposes, allowing it to drive down the carbon cost of our energy and help us to move to that just transition, will not only cut energy bills everywhere in the country—Lichfield, Burntwood, the villages and everywhere—but drive up investment and bring economic growth everywhere across the UK. It will also help us to meet our obligations on the climate crisis, which will have a material impact on the lives of our children, our children’s children and all generations to come.

On that basis, it is an absolute pleasure to say that I fully support the Bill. I look forward to helping it through its further stages through Parliament.