Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
There's nothing in my background that would have said I was destined to be a senior politician.
The U.K.'s debt belongs legally to Westminster, so Scotland, by definition, can't default on it.
One thing we've learned is that there's not anything that Nigel Farage won't blame on foreigners.
I worry about the direction of the U.K. and U.K. politics and governance in the event of a Brexit.
Instead of an end to austerity, Labour has made clear that it wants to impose more austerity cuts.
Would I love to think that one day I would be First Minister of an independent Scotland? Of course.
Personally, I can think of no greater privilege than to lead the party I joined when I was just 16.
Any politician or campaigner trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the public won't get very far.
I was studious and bookish. Not just as a child but also as a teenager. I took myself too seriously.
Haggis is delicious. It is wonderful. It's spicy, it's tasty, and you get vegetarian haggis as well.
One of the attributes Glasgow is best known for all over the world is the friendliness of her people.
There was nothing in my childhood that said, 'She's going to be first minister of the country one day.'
Maybe unlike a lot of people who join the SNP today, I never had any expectation of a political career.
Being a housewife is not important to me, but I'm never happier than when I come home and shut the door.
Scotland has a great deal to offer the world in terms of our approach to key economic and social issues.
There are lots of jobs and investment in Scotland dependent on our membership of the E.U. single market.
I'm not making any secret of the fact I still believe in independence. We'll continue to argue the case.
I believe we should support people to live, and I am therefore in favour of good quality palliative care.
I was fascinated, long before I joined the SNP, in the world around me; current affairs really interested me.
This government and the party that I lead will continue to argue an alternative to the Tory-Labour austerity.
Equality and prosperity shouldn't be seen as enemies of each other, but as partners. One reinforces the other.
I and Alex Salmond are not in competition - we are on the same side; we are on the same team, working together.
We've chosen to stay part of the Westminster system, but we don't want to be a forgotten, sidelined part of it.
My message is a simple one - the E.U. is not perfect, but Scotland's interests are best served by being a member.
My pledge to you is that the SNP will put women and gender equality right at the heart of the Westminster agenda.
Most politicians come into politics because they want to make a difference; we just have different ideas how to do it.
The fact is that co-operation between independent countries - to our mutual advantage - is the way of the modern world.
Sad to hear that George Michael has died.He was an exceptional artist and a strong supporter of LGBT and workers' rights.
The debate around the ageing population should, in my view, focus much more on how we grow the active, working population.
It is one of the little known facts about modern Scottish politics that it is not quite as cut-throat as people think it is.
Scotland's relationship with Malawi is perhaps unique - with almost every town or village in Scotland having some connection.
It's very much the currency of discourse on social media where political disagreements very quickly become very personalised.
Labour's support in Scotland depends on their ability to be electable. If they are divided and unelectable, what's the point?
In particular, I want to set a challenge to public bodies and private companies to improve gender balance on their own boards.
Governments in countries across the world have a duty to do everything possible to keep the public safe from terrorist attacks.
I feel comfortable in a position of leadership, but that's not to say I feel complacent about it. I take it incredibly seriously.
The fact that healthier lifestyles and advances in medicine mean that we are living longer is actually something to be celebrated.
I was very proud, on just my second day in office, to appoint a gender-balanced cabinet - one of only three in the developed world.
English businesses would face massive transaction costs if Scotland, their second biggest export market, used a different currency.
It is clear that my predecessor as First Minister is frightening the life out of the Tories and the Labour Party. Long may it continue.
What a war in Iraq will not do is bring about peace in the Middle East or end the injustices that feed resentment and breed terrorists.
This is just too awful. Such an amazing talent [like George Michael] gone too soon. Wham was part of the soundtrack to my teenage years.
I feel sorry for generations of Labour voters and supporters who must look and wonder what on earth has gone wrong and what Labour is for.
I am quite a shy person. You say that to people, and they say, 'You do interviews, speeches. How can you be shy?' But, fundamentally, I am.
An independent Scotland could afford pensions full stop - after all, it is our taxes and national insurance contributions that fund them now.
If there are healthy - and growing - numbers of people working and paying taxes, we are better able to pay the costs of people living longer.
A whole range of things are done to ensure services remain safe and sustainable because that is the absolute paramount duty of the health board.
Under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, it is possible for other parties to change the direction of a government without bringing a government down.
Is it not typical that we have a Tory Government that wants, just like its pals in the Labour Party, constantly to talk down Scotland's prospects?
Too often in the past, Scotland has been sidelined and ignored in the Westminster corridors of power, but that doesn't have to be the case anymore.