Academics From Wales

"There is no such thing as a niche issue in Wales"

"[I have concerns] about the democratic implications of another [EU] vote"

"I don't think that we should just embark upon these questions lightly because people will rightly ask what is the point of voting again in any future referendum or indeed election. So, there is a real concern about democracy but also there's a concern about democracy if we do crash out of the European Union and it's not just a concern for democracy, it's also a concern for the economy, for the future for young people, for a whole raft of economic issues."

"All forms of political violence are the same. USA, Barcelona, everywhere. They are ideology-driven & we have to understand that to stop it."

"We may be a small party and a small country but we can stand tall if we stand together and if we stand up for our principles. Real independence means collectively lifting our people out of poverty leaving no-one behind, building a future based on hope not on fear."

"I believe in equality. I think steps should be taken to reduce the imbalance we have in society, so I favour the redistribution of wealth for example. But what I do say is that the bar is quite low. What's considered to be radical politics today was seen as mainstream 20 years ago. Plaid Cymru is a left party and I would argue that the views that I hold reflect the views of the members of Plaid Cymru."

"Within Plaid Cymru, we have a strong internal democracy which reflects how much we rely on the party membership as a grassroots body. The side effect of this is that measures to promote women are not always at their strongest, but must be balanced out with local party control. Over the years we have also seen that this is true outside of Plaid Cymru as well, as tensions between local party democracy and central party machines have been apparent in other parties."

"[Only Plaid Cymru can] further the Welsh national interest at the heart of Europe... More than one in 10 jobs are directly dependent on our membership of the EU - that's 150,000 reasons to vote Plaid Cymru."

"Do not forget what is at stake at this election. Do not forget all that will be put at risk if dangerous right-wing isolationist Europhobia is victorious. Our businesses rely on £5bn worth of trade with our EU partners every year. Our country has benefited from investment in our infrastructure and communities, with more on the horizon. More than one in 10 jobs are directly dependent on our membership of the EU - that's 150,000 reasons to vote Plaid Cymru in this May's election."

"The EU is too important to be discarded"

"First minister, last night you participated in the first major public debate on the future for Wales within the European Union. You went head-to-head with the voice of the far right. Do you think your performance helped or hindered the Welsh campaign on the EU?"

"It is not possible in 2016 to simply pull up the drawbridge and retreat to an idyllic isolation. And even if it were, surely that isn't the kind of country we want Wales to be. [I want a] decentralised, partnership of equals as the basis for the new Europe."

"We will continue to work together in the spirit of constructive collaboration to promote the benefits of EU membership for Wales and to campaign for Remain"

"Leaving the EU would risk our hard-won gains including rights at the workplace, access for businesses to the single market and would diminish our contribution to global challenges such as climate change and conflict resolution."

"I've been quite surprised by how so many people have been able to be persuaded around this question of fear of immigration. We've got a week now to try to persuade as many people as possible that it is in Wales' best interests to Remain as a part of the European Union."

"The Welsh Government should develop and prepare an official Welsh negotiating position for EU withdrawal"

"Brexit provides an opportunity for the nations to take more power and responsibility from the UK. The referendum result shows how Westminster rule has left many communities behind. It should in no way be interpreted as a vote to centralise more power in London. No self-respecting country should be timid or ashamed of governing itself. It's disheartening to see such a negative attitude from some in Welsh politics."

"We know that with the uncertainties arising from the decision to leave the EU, the Welsh Government now needs to look at alternative ways of improving the economies of areas in Wales that have been left behind by successive UK and Welsh Governments. We propose that this work is started in the areas that are set to lose out the most from the changes to the structural funds that will occur as a result of the decision leave the EU."

"I fear we've ended up in this situation because of irresponsible politicians trying to use rhetoric against immigration in order to make political points, for example for Brexit. But we've opened a can of worms now and we are potentially in quite a dangerous situation."

"Plaid Cymru accepts the referendum result"

"Questions of immigration and the single market were not on the ballot paper at the EU referendum. I've been speaking to a number of key players in the Welsh economy and they're all telling me that tariffs and being outside the EU's regulatory regime would be damaging to them."

"Wales voted Leave, but it does not mean that the Welsh government should sit back and let Brexit take its course"

"[The High Court ruling] should not be seen as an opportunity to overturn the result. It gives an opportunity for the 48% of voters who backed Remain to have an input and pursue a soft Brexit."

"Our exit from the EU will be one of the most pivotal moments in our history and it is vital that both governments get it right."

"I've got quite a thick skin... but I don't think we should just accept threats of rape or shootings"

"We have to recognise the vote and people voted to leave. So what we do now is discuss the best kind of Brexit possible for Wales; the least worst option, if you like."

"Now, that [the Norwegian model] would enable us to retain an element of freedom of movement"

"The most important outcome for Wales from any negotiations is to be in the single market. By upping the ante on migration, Mr Corbyn and the Labour party risk giving Theresa May the political cover needed for a hard Brexit. If the speech makes rejecting the principle of freedom of movement a priority, then it will help the Tories make a case for leaving the single market, which would be disastrous for the Welsh economy. Labour, despite being the UK opposition, cannot be trusted to know what is best for the Welsh economy."

"The challenge we all face now is ensuring that as we prepare to leave the EU we secure the best possible deal for Wales. Together, we intend to rise to that challenge."

"[Mr Davis was] left in no doubt over the importance of single market participation"

"While Wales may have voted to leave, no one voted to give the Tories a blank cheque to wreck the Welsh economy by dragging us out of the single market and jeopardising 200,000 jobs,"

"There are countries that are outside of the EU but inside the single market, like Norway."

"After much consideration, I'm not standing as MP for the Rhondda. Confident that @Plaid_Cymru will have very strong candidate."

"The National Assembly is an important institution to us a party. It is vital that the leader is in that institution."

"There can be no greater priority for our party right now than upholding the Welsh national interest during the months ahead as the UK government begins the process of leaving the European Union."

"Plaid Cymru believes that decisions about Wales are best made in Wales and the way in which this hard Brexit is being pursued highlights exactly why. If the UK Government's Brexit negotiation also leads to the Welsh national interest being overlooked, support will grow for greater control of our own affairs in Wales."

"Wales cannot afford to pay the price for a hard Brexit."

"It's time to move on from the 2016 referendum and focus on what a good deal for Wales could look like"

"Be it on tourism, farming, higher education or jobs, we are determined to overcome the threats and seek out and seize upon the opportunities which may come with leaving the EU."

"Things have moved on. We've moved on from the referendum. We've moved on from talking about membership of the single market."

"[We have a] positive Brexit plan focused on protecting the 200,000 jobs in Wales that rely on tariff-free access to the EU single market"

"[The] police needed to be given sufficient resources to do that job properly"

"I'm not Natalie, I'm Leanne"

"If you live here and you want to be Welsh then as far as we are concerned, you are Welsh and your rights will be defended by the Party of Wales"

"What we know about the Tories is that they want to reduce the amount of money that government spends. So my fear is that Brexit will be used as an opportunity by them to reduce the amount of investment we get in Wales."

"Our modern sedentary life is one for which we have not been designed and for which, at least biologically, we are poorly equipped. It is a common misconception – pervasive and tenacious, but a misconception nonetheless – that arses are made for sitting on. It seems, instead, they are made for running."

"When he was a little boy, my father had a dog – a German shepherd named Rex. He was very fond of the dog and would ride around the garden on its back. Around the same time, the Rowlands family also had a pig. History does not record the name of this pig, and perhaps it never had a name. But, nameless or not, my father was very fond of it and would ride around the garden on its back. Rex, by all accounts, lived a long and happy life. Things went a little differently for the pig. I relate this story not only because it provided my first brush with the idea of animal rights ('What happened to the pig, Dad?') but also because, if you look closely enough, you will find the basic moral case for animals encapsulated tightly within it. Ethics is many things, but it's hardly rocket science. In the end, most of it is pretty obvious. The moral case for animals … is about as obvious as this: the differential treatment of Rex and pig is a bit strange."

"Even if vegetarian dishes are less palatable than meat-based dishes, and it is not clear that they are, we have to weigh up humans' loss of certain pleasures of the palate against what the animals we eat have to give up because of our predilection for meat. Most obviously, of course, they have to give up their lives, and all the opportunities for the pursuing of interests and satisfaction of preferences that go with this. For most of the animals we eat, in fact, death may not be the greatest of evils. They are forced to live their short lives in appalling and barbaric conditions, and undergo atrocious treatment. Death for many of these animals is a welcome release. When you compare what human beings would have to 'suffer' should vegetarianism become a widespread practice with what the animals we eat have to suffer given that it is not, then if one were to make a rational and self-interested choice in the original position, it is clear what this choice would be. If one did not know whether one was going to be a human or an animal preyed on by humans, the rational choice would surely be to opt for a world where vegetarianism was a widespread human practice and where, therefore, there was no animal husbandry industry. What one stands to lose as a human is surely inconsequential compared to what one stands to lose as a cow, or pig, or lamb."

"Humans are the animals that manufacture weakness. We take wolves and we make them into dogs. We take buffalo and we make them into cows. We take stallions and we make them into geldings. We make things weak so that we may use them."

"A second name I want to mention is that of Keith Thomas. I still recall reading his essay on the social origins of Hobbes’s political theory, which was published shortly after I began research on Hobbes’s philosophy myself. I was amazed by its sheer learning, and exhilarated by its success in situating Hobbes’s thinking within its ideological context."