Equality and prosperity shouldn’t be seen as enemies of each other, but as partners. One reinforces the other.
True gender equality in Scotland – and elsewhere – is still some way off.
My pledge to you is that the SNP will put women and gender equality right at the heart of the Westminster agenda.
I’m not making any secret of the fact I still believe in independence. We’ll continue to argue the case.
I want there to be another independence referendum at some stage. I want Scotland to be independent, but I wouldn’t choose to have it happen because England votes to come out of the E.U.
As a young woman in politics, with few women around, you start to subconsciously behave like men in politics. That comes across as quite hard, tough and humorless, but you’re trying to be taken seriously.
I stand here today as the first woman first minister of our country. Every day I hold this office, I will work to ensure that every woman, every wee girl across this country, gets a chance to do what I’ve done and follow their dream.
I feel comfortable in a position of leadership, but that’s not to say I feel complacent about it. I take it incredibly seriously.
I know you’ve got to earn people’s trust, and you’ve got to earn it day after day after day.
Let us put the normal divisions of politics aside. Let us come together as one country let us seize this historic moment to shift the balance of power from the corridors of Westminster to the streets and communities of Scotland.
Social media is natural to me, and it’s a very immediate way of saying something. It’s the way politics are done these days. In modern politics, you can’t ignore that even if you wanted to. I can’t imagine doing politics without it.
I worry about the direction of the U.K. and U.K. politics and governance in the event of a Brexit.
I am the granddaughter of an English woman. I love England and her people and, regardless of politics, consider you to be family… and always will.
When I was growing up, I was lucky to benefit from a first class education.
The importance of education is ingrained in Scottish history.
My political awakening, if I can be as grand as to call it that, was all about what was happening around me. It wasn’t some romantic, patriotic vision of Scotland going back to what it had been 300 years previously.