Trespass, the outdoor clothing company based in the South Side, is run by two of the nicest guys and proudest Glaswegians you could meet, Afzal and Akmal Khushi.

Tax credits are designed to help people who work hard but who, through no fault of their own, don't earn enough to keep their families out of poverty.

The Scottish Government's international development work began in 2005 with a £3 million budget focused solely on Malawi, reflecting the historic links between our two countries.

It is hard to overstate the economic importance of the U.S.A. to Scotland, and that makes it essential that we engage with companies and potential investors and get the message across that we are open for business.

Being a housewife is not important to me, but I'm never happier than when I come home and shut the door.

As First Minister, I will always act in the best interests of the country. As party leader, I will always act in the best interests of the party, and if that sometimes means taking difficult, unpalatable decisions, I will never shy away from that.

There's nothing in my background that would have said I was destined to be a senior politician.

Haggis is delicious. It is wonderful. It's spicy, it's tasty, and you get vegetarian haggis as well.

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.

Of course, aid is only one small part of international development. Some of the greatest benefits to the world's poorest can be achieved through policy changes by developed countries.

Parties that win elections should form the government, not parties that lose elections.

If your pal or neighbour is in the SNP, you're more likely to listen to them than if you just turn on the telly and see me or Alex. The growth of membership is building a politically engaged community base that hasn't been there in my lifetime.

Scotland's relationship with Malawi is perhaps unique - with almost every town or village in Scotland having some connection.

U.K. welfare cuts are pushing more children into poverty; that is beyond dispute.

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.

Clearly, any issues about breaching of expenses rules should be properly investigated.

Not once in my life has the Tory Party come anywhere close to winning an election in Scotland, and yet, for more than half my life, we have had a Tory government. That is wrong and undemocratic.

I'm a politician, and as you know, politicians are rarely very funny.

Governments in countries across the world have a duty to do everything possible to keep the public safe from terrorist attacks.

The fact is that co-operation between independent countries - to our mutual advantage - is the way of the modern world.

I drove my mum and dad mad.

Taxing people for having a spare bedroom and forcing them into rent arrears or the possibility of losing homes they have lived in for years has always been a cruel and heartless measure, and so it is good that the Scottish Parliament has been able to step in.

Sometimes things happen in life, sometimes they don't. Don't get me wrong: I have no regrets - if I could turn the clock back 10 or 20 years, I wouldn't want to fundamentally change the path my life has taken.

One of Ed Miliband's shadow ministers has said he would never vote for the renewal of Trident.

Voting Labour in the past hasn't protected Scotland against Tory governments.

The assumption that people sometimes make is that I have made a cold, calculated decision to put my career ahead of having family, and that's not true.

Any politician or campaigner trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the public won't get very far.

There can be no greater privilege in life than to be chosen to lead your country.

When I was growing up, I was lucky to benefit from a first class education.

An independent Scotland - like all countries - will face challenges, and we will have our ups and downs. But the decisions about how we use our wealth will be ours.

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.

Scotch beef, salmon and shellfish are recognised the world over for their excellence and Scottish provenance. People recognise the Scottish brand. They associate the country with quality food and drink, and clearly other Scottish sectors, such as dairy, can benefit from that, too.

American companies based in Scotland employ large numbers of people - in fact, we are the best performing part of the U.K., outside London and the southeast of England when it comes to attracting foreign direct investment.

Glasgow is a great city.

It still annoys me when I read really derogatory things about how a woman looks because you would usually not read these things about a man, and that still has the potential to put women off public life.

Instead of an end to austerity, Labour has made clear that it wants to impose more austerity cuts.

Labour long ago realised it could no longer automatically assume that it would win elections in Glasgow and other places where it has taken people's votes for granted for decades - as we have seen across Scotland at local council and Holyrood elections.

I'm not going to do anything that heralds in a Tory government.

For me, personally, it has been humbling since I became First Minister to speak to women and girls and have them tell me how much it means to them to have a woman in the top job in politics in Scotland.

For parents - women in particular - good quality, affordable childcare is vital.

Twitter's probably my bad habit.

Politics is a very male-dominated, male-driven profession. I was not just a woman but a young woman, and I suppose you end up trying to behave in a way that you think is expected of you.

I believe we should support people to live, and I am therefore in favour of good quality palliative care.

True gender equality in Scotland - and elsewhere - is still some way off.

Some of the brightest and best women in our society are stifled in their ambitions.

The decision on whether there is another referendum is down to the Scottish people.

The fact is Scottish Labour has lost its way.

Under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, it is possible for other parties to change the direction of a government without bringing a government down.

I and Alex Salmond are not in competition - we are on the same side; we are on the same team, working together.

The total impact of the Tory/Liberal tax, welfare and public spending changes has hit the poorest 10% in society disproportionately hard - and women have been affected even more badly than men.