Centre for Welsh Studies

The Centre for Welsh Studies is a Welsh political think tank based in Cardiff that promotes a pro-Brexit perspective and argues for a positive vision of Wales outside the European Union. Its public positioning is associated with Euroscepticism, support for the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU, and advocacy of a globally oriented United Kingdom. The organisation emerged from the political environment surrounding the 2016 Brexit referendum and has been connected with personnel who worked for the Vote Leave campaign or in European political institutions. The centre’s advisory structure has included Conservative and independent political figures. Named advisers include Conservative Members of Parliament David Jones, James Davies and Sarah Atherton, as well as Patrick Minford, an economist and professor at Cardiff University. Jones has been associated with the European Research Group, while Minford has publicly supported Eurosceptic economic arguments. The composition of the advisory board gives the centre a policy-oriented and politically conservative profile, although the organisation is distinct from any political party. The centre’s operational leadership has included Matthew MacKinnon as director and Edward Sumner as chief operating officer. MacKinnon studied politics and business, developed Eurosceptic views while at university, worked in the European Parliament and previously served as Vote Leave’s regional director for Wales. Sumner studied politics at the University of Hull and the University of Bremen, has also worked in the European Parliament, and has written for publications including the Huffington Post and the Daily Telegraph. Before joining the centre, he worked on the Vote Leave campaign. Its activities have included publishing political commentary and policy arguments on Brexit, Wales’s relationship with the United Kingdom, economic policy and the consequences of government decisions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the centre criticised the Welsh Government’s lockdown and public-health response. MacKinnon argued that the response had been made under political pressure and had caused substantial economic damage. Welsh Conservative politician Jonathan Morgan also contributed an article to the centre’s website examining the effects of the pandemic and the idea of a post-lockdown “new normal.” The organisation has attracted scrutiny over transparency concerning its finances. Reporting described it as reluctant to disclose financial details and identified it as a partner of the Atlas Network, a network associated with free-market and right-libertarian organisations. Available reporting on the financial year ending 31 January 2020 stated that the centre had £1,164 in assets and owed £1,208 to creditors, while also noting expenditure or capacity associated with office improvements and Facebook advertising. These figures provide a limited snapshot rather than a complete account of its finances. The centre’s public identity is therefore best understood as that of a small, politically aligned policy organisation rather than a commercial consumer brand.

The Centre for Welsh Studies is a Cardiff-based think tank formed in the political context of the United Kingdom’s debate over membership of the European Union. It advocates Brexit and presents itself as supporting a constructive or positive future for Wales outside the EU. Its work is therefore situated at the intersection of Welsh public policy, British constitutional politics and Eurosceptic campaigning. The organisation’s personnel have strong links to the Brexit campaign and to broader Conservative and free-market networks. Director Matthew MacKinnon previously worked as Vote Leave’s regional director for Wales and had earlier worked in the European Parliament. His political outlook became Eurosceptic while he was studying politics and business. Chief operating officer Edward Sumner likewise worked on the Vote Leave campaign and had experience in the European Parliament. His academic background includes politics at the University of Hull and the University of Bremen, and he has written political commentary for national media outlets. The centre has used its platform to promote arguments about Wales’s place within the United Kingdom and the opportunities it believes could follow from leaving the European Union. Its advisory board has included Conservative MPs David Jones, James Davies and Sarah Atherton, together with Cardiff University professor Patrick Minford. The board’s membership has reinforced the organisation’s association with Conservative, Eurosceptic and market-oriented policy positions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the centre became a critic of the Welsh Government’s response to lockdowns and related public-health restrictions. MacKinnon argued that the government had acted under pressure and that its response had inflicted significant economic damage. The centre also hosted or published commentary about the social and political consequences of the pandemic, including an article by Welsh Conservative politician Jonathan Morgan concerning the emerging “new normal.” The organisation has also been subject to reporting about its funding and finances. It has been described as guarded about financial disclosure and as a partner of the Atlas Network, which supports a range of right-libertarian and free-market groups. Reporting on the year ending 31 January 2020 referred to £1,164 in assets and £1,208 owed to creditors, while also noting office upgrades and Facebook advertising activity. The available information does not establish a complete long-term financial history, but it indicates that the centre operated as a small policy organisation with resources directed toward communications, premises and advocacy. The Centre for Welsh Studies should not be confused with an academic university department or a general cultural institution devoted to Welsh studies. In the referenced material, its defining identity is political: it is a pro-Brexit advocacy and policy organisation focused on Wales and the future of the United Kingdom. Its current operating status, website and subsequent activities are not established by the supplied sources.

• 2020

  Financial position reported for year ending 31 January 2020

  [1]Centre for Welsh Studiesen.wikipedia.org

  Reporting cited £1,164 in assets and £1,208 owed to creditors, alongside discussion of office improvements and Facebook advertising.

• Established as a pro-Brexit Welsh think tank

  [1]Centre for Welsh Studiesen.wikipedia.org

  The Centre for Welsh Studies emerged as a Cardiff-based organisation advocating a positive vision for Wales outside the European Union.

• Leadership connected to Vote Leave

  [1]Centre for Welsh Studiesen.wikipedia.org

  Matthew MacKinnon and Edward Sumner brought backgrounds in the Vote Leave campaign and European political work to the centre’s leadership.

• Criticism of Welsh pandemic policy

  [1]Centre for Welsh Studiesen.wikipedia.org

  The centre publicly criticised the Welsh Government’s handling of COVID-19 restrictions and their economic consequences.

A Wales-focused, pro-Brexit think tank presenting Eurosceptic and free-market-oriented arguments about Welsh governance, the United Kingdom and Wales’s economic future outside the European Union.

• Think-tank research and advocacy

  Brexit and Wales policy advocacy

  The centre’s principal output is political advocacy supporting Brexit and a Wales-oriented vision of life outside the European Union. Its arguments address constitutional arrangements, national economic prospects and the relationship between Wales and the wider United Kingdom.

• Digital publishing

  Political commentary

  The organisation publishes or hosts commentary by its own representatives and sympathetic political figures. Topics mentioned in the available material include Welsh governance, economic policy, the pandemic and the consequences of Brexit.

• Political communications

  Social-media campaigning

  The centre has used online communications, including Facebook advertising, to distribute its political messages and promote its policy perspective. The scale and continuing status of this activity are not established in the supplied sources.

• Positive vision for Wales outside the European Union

  Wales · United Kingdom

  The centre’s core advocacy campaign presents Brexit as an opportunity for Wales and the United Kingdom, rather than solely as a withdrawal from European institutions.

  Outcome. No independently verified campaign outcome is provided.

  Source
• Criticism of Welsh COVID-19 restrictions

  Wales

  During the pandemic, the centre argued that Welsh Government measures were adopted under pressure and generated excessive economic damage.

  Outcome. The available material records the centre’s position but does not establish a policy change resulting from its campaign.

  Source

• Adopted a pro-Brexit Welsh policy platformStrategy

  Background

  The organisation was established in the period surrounding the Brexit debate and defined its public identity around Wales outside the European Union.

  Action taken

  It positioned its publications and public commentary in favour of Brexit and a globally oriented United Kingdom.

  Aftermath

  The platform shaped its advisory-board composition, leadership profile and subsequent criticism of Welsh Government policy.

  Source

• Focused public criticism on Welsh pandemic policyStrategy

  Background

  The COVID-19 pandemic created a major policy dispute over lockdowns, public-health restrictions and economic costs in Wales.

  Action taken

  The centre used its platform to challenge the Welsh Government’s response and publish commentary about the resulting social and economic conditions.

  Aftermath

  The centre became associated with opposition to Welsh lockdown policy; no resulting government decision is established by the supplied sources.

  Source

1. 1Centre for Welsh Studiesen.wikipedia.org