Crown Estate Bill [Lords] Report Stage: New Clause 6
100Ayes
312Noes
Defeated · majority 212 · Government won234 did not vote
646 Members · Aye 100 · No 312 · DNV 234 · grey dots in centre are abstentions
Analysis
Commons
Commons
Parliament voted on 24 February 2025 to reject New Clause 6 to the Crown Estate Bill, a Conservative-tabled amendment that would have written a statutory borrowing cap into the legislation. The cap would have limited the Crown Estate's net debt to no more than 25% of its total asset value, with any change to that limit requiring approval through affirmative regulations. The amendment was defeated by 312 votes to 100, Division number 102. The Crown Estate Bill extends the Estate's powers to borrow and invest, moving beyond the constraints of the Crown Estate Act 1961. The Estate manages assets valued at around 15.5 billion pounds, including coastal land and seabed central to offshore wind development. Supporters of the cap argued that without a statutory limit, Parliament would have insufficient oversight of the Estate's new borrowing powers. The government's alternative is to set borrowing limits through a memorandum of understanding, a non-statutory agreement that can be revised without parliamentary approval. Conservative MPs voted almost unanimously in favour of the amendment, with 88 ayes and no noes recorded from the party. Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs voted solidly against, with 311 combined noes and no ayes. Plaid Cymru's four MPs, the four Democratic Unionist Party members, two Reform UK MPs, and both Ulster unionist parties backed the amendment, forming a cross-party bloc in opposition to the government. The result follows a pattern visible in related divisions on financial legislation in early 2025, where Conservative-tabled amendments have attracted similar numbers of around 88 to 100 ayes against much larger government majorities.
Voting Aye meant
Support imposing a statutory borrowing limit on the Crown Estate to ensure parliamentary oversight of its new powers to borrow and invest, preventing unchecked debt accumulation.
Voting No meant
Oppose writing a fixed borrowing cap into law, preferring flexible non-statutory controls through a memorandum of understanding to allow the Crown Estate to pursue green energy investment and maximise returns.
Each row is one party. The stacked bar gives the within-party split of Aye / No / Absent; the columns on the right give the raw counts. The whip column shows the published party position — “Free vote” means the whip was formally removed for this division.
Party
Whip
Aye / No / Abs
Aye
No
Abs
Labour Party
Whipped No
0
282
79
Conservative and Unionist Party
Whipped Aye
88
0
28
Liberal Democrats
—
0
0
71
Labour and Co-operative Party
Whipped No
0
29
13
Independent
—
2
2
10
Scottish National Party
—
0
0
9
Reform UK
—
2
0
5
Sinn Féin
—
0
0
7
Democratic Unionist Party
Whipped Aye
4
0
1
Green Party of England and Wales
—
0
0
4
Plaid Cymru
Whipped Aye
4
0
0
Social Democratic and Labour Party
—
0
0
2
Your Party
—
0
1
1
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
—
0
0
1
Restore Britain
—
0
0
1
Speaker
—
0
0
1
Traditional Unionist Voice
—
1
0
0
Ulster Unionist Party
—
1
0
0
Source · Hansard · UK Parliament Votes API · whip status from announced positions; “free vote” indicates the whip was formally removed
New Clause 1 proposes devolving Welsh Crown Estate management to Welsh Government within two years, arguing Wales should control and benefit from its natural resources like Scotland does.Plaid Cymru · Voted aye · Read full speech (1,349 words) →
Supports the Bill but backs Amendment 5 to require Crown Estate to have regard to net zero, regional economic growth and energy security as defined duties, rejecting ESG window-dressing.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (1,280 words) →
Backs Amendment 4 (25% borrowing cap), New Clause 5 (Treasury approval for 10%+ asset disposals), and New Clause 6 (publish GB Energy partnership agreement) to ensure parliamentary oversight.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (2,277 words) →
Supports Bill but backs Amendment 2 (define sustainable development with climate and nature duty) and New Clause 3 (5% of profits to local communities) to ensure accountability and community benefits.Liberal Democrat · Voted no_vote_recorded · Read full speech (1,527 words) →
Supports the Bill as modernising Crown Estate to accelerate net zero and energy security; opposes new clauses and amendments as unnecessary restrictions on Crown Estate's flexibility.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (694 words) →
Backs Amendment 3 requiring Crown Estate to assess coastal erosion protections where offshore projects make landfall, citing unfair disparity between energy infrastructure and community protection.Labour · Voted no_vote_recorded · Read full speech (782 words) →
Opposes New Clause 7 (devolution to Northern Ireland Executive) as impractical given Stormont's dysfunction and Lough Foyle's contentious status with Republic of Ireland.DUP · Voted aye · Read full speech (637 words) →
Rejects devolution to Wales and Northern Ireland as commercially unviable and disruptive to grid connectivity and offshore wind investment; maintains existing structure benefits all UK nations.Labour (Minister) · Voted no · Read full speech (5,491 words) →
Sources
Division dataUK Parliament Votes API
DebateHansard · Commons
Stance analysisAI analysis · Claude 4.x
LicenceOpen Parliament Licence v3.0