Top 100 Quotes & Sayings by Claire Fox - Page 2

My political views have never made me insensitive to the pain and suffering caused to the innocent victims of events such as the Warrington bomb.

One of the great tragedies of Brexit has been that despite the fact there was an unprecedented public vote for change, Brexit was almost hijacked, owned, and controlled by a technocratic establishment.

I have no truck with the faintly conspiratorial argument that international governments are gleeful about a public-health emergency to enact authoritarian measures.

Those who politically theorise the artificial concept of 'whiteness' infer that anyone who has white skin cannot escape their unconscious bias. If you object, you are accused of failing to come to terms with your white privilege.

Welsh voices and Welsh communities were heard in 2016 in their tens of thousands, in their droves. They voted to leave the European Union and since then they have had that slapped in their face actually often by Labour MPs who basically said we know better than you.

One lesson of the vote for Brexit was that citizens were fed up being treated as bystanders. One of the gains of Leave was the flourishing of a sense of agency and self-determination that it afforded to many.

The paternalism of the Conservative party is breathtaking.

One thing we can be sure of is that Brexit will leave its mark on the E.U.

I do not want to give the state and the authorities the right to ban things on the Internet - no ifs.

I actually don't think we should ban Jihadi videos because I don't think that is what causes the issue of Islamist violence. We have to confront these things beyond banning them.

If you lose an argument it doesn't mean you change your mind but you have to accept the decision.

To hear the Conservatives issue a command that all Leave voters must vote Tory, this seems insultingly complacent.

I would never say don't have an argument.

The truth is the Tories don't own Brexit. No party owns Brexit and that includes the Brexit Party.

You see, Leavers desperately need a psychological win. We need to feel our vote for change can actually change things.

I'm not Tory but I do happen to think that the Government should be allowed to govern.

Senior Tories have exhibited a brand of entitled arrogance that implies that they own Brexit. It seems that anyone else who claims its mantle can be pushed to one side. And that includes voters.

If the widespread attempts to block Brexit gave us a glimpse into how fragile our commitment to democracy had become - reduced to a technocratic in-name-only veneer - reactions to Covid are a stark reminder that freedom cannot be assumed as a social norm that's deeply embedded into our institutions and our psyche.

I can only look at what Labour has done to the NHS here in Wales and it's not a good story. That includes on education as well.

I'm very interested in the new industrial revolution, what we do in terms of energy, developing the north, ensuring there are jobs and that kind of vision.

I do not condone the use of violence.

Brexit has acted as a catalyst encouraging more people to think and vote outside of traditional party loyalties.

The media are so key in a national emergency, especially when opposition parties in the U.K. are - let us say - largely in disarray, even leaderless.

I think there's a presumption of a climate emergency which I don't think there is. I think there's a climate problem, I don't think there's an emergency.

Left to their own devices, the Tories will squash the life out of what Brexit really represents in terms of the chance to shake up political life and overturn a complacent status quo. We cannot let that happen.

People conclude that if the famous can be dragged through the virtual public square and unceremoniously dumped, the fate of any random tweeter or the average man or woman on the street can seem even more precarious.

Sloganeering and name-calling have been some of the most unsavoury aspects of Leave/Remain conflicts over the past few years.

There were good-faith reasons to resort to extraordinary measures when confronting an unknown global pandemic. Most of us consented to the lockdown, even if reluctantly. However, that consent - freely given as an act of social solidarity - was not intended as a green light to giving up hard-won liberties, or a perpetual suspension of free society.

It has to be said that one of the most impressive aspects of the parliament are the brilliant unsung translators, who ensure that whatever language you speak, you are understood.

Constantly referring to past wrongdoings can become a substitute for developing a deeper analysis of today's foreign-policy challenges, of understanding what is new and different.

You don't need to be a fan of wars or militarism to note that heroic action - whether being prepared to be jailed as a conscientious objector or putting your life on the line by joining the resistance - creates a sense of meaning when society faces a huge challenge.

European civil society and NGOs that petition for favours and influence for their special interests are often themselves funded from E.U. coffers. This creates a system of patronage that encourages self-reinforcing group-think and a cloying sycophancy.

I think that the European Union negotiators have gotten a shock. They were shocked when they realised the Brexit trade negotiations were not just going to be a continuation of those that happened under Theresa May.

I am standing in solidarity with decent Remain voters who respected the rules and accepted the result and are as appalled by Parliament's undemocratic antics as the most ardent Brexiteer.

For me, normal means freedom to live life as we choose, from cramming into packed planes to go on holiday to crowding into pubs for birthday parties.

I am rather proud of my modest contribution to bringing democracy home.

If you want to initiate a broader debate about racism, is it really healthy to create an atmosphere in which it is not only statues that are being toppled but a range of cultural artefacts, TV series, celebrities, columnists and controversial broadcasters?

For many Leavers, having been demonised in the vilest terms as racists, stupid and worse, it is hard to simply employ a hug-a-Remainer approach.

I confess I had butterflies doing the first BBC 'Politics Live' of 2020. It felt like the first day back at school.

Retreating to indefinite lockdown culture would mean surrendering what makes life worth living, a far more tragic cost than anything inflicted by a virus.