The oil and gas sector in the North Sea does have a strong future if we do the right things now, but we've got to make sure that the infrastructure is right to support the sector, but also to support, over the next few years, diversification as well.

Scotland almost invented the modern world. I mean, all of these televisions, telephones, penicillin, we all - all of these things were invented in Scotland.

I'll be arguing for Scotland to vote to stay in the E.U.

People who think of a nationalist party sometimes think 'inward-looking and parochial.' The kind of nationalism I represent is the opposite of that.

I do struggle to identify an occasion when I was held back because I'm a woman... You don't think about it at the time, but looking back at it, of course.

Scotland has a great deal to offer the world in terms of our approach to key economic and social issues.

Poverty is on the increase - due to welfare cuts - and demand for food banks has rocketed.

I bow to no one in my ambition to see Glasgow be as successful as it possibly can be.

Ed Balls has made it crystal clear that, left to its own devices, a Labour government would simply carry on with the same budget policies as the Tories.

Men - the colour of their tie is the most difficult decision they have to make every day.

I am quite hot-headed; I am quite impulsive. Fortunately, it doesn't last very long.

I don't cook very often. Actually, I'd go further: I can't cook.

I think it is important the communities are listened to and that their voice is heard, particularly with local government boundaries more than parliamentary boundaries, because you are talking very much about communities. It can be a very emotive thing.

I'm quite hypercritical of myself. It's a very Scottish thing, always thinking that you've got to be that bit better than everyone else to be good enough.

English businesses would face massive transaction costs if Scotland, their second biggest export market, used a different currency.

I am privileged to count many Muslims among my friends - some are amongst my closest friends.

The teachers who taught me at Dreghorn Primary and Greenwood Academy were fantastic.

Maybe unlike a lot of people who join the SNP today, I never had any expectation of a political career.

Do I look like one of the most dangerous women in Britain? Come on!

Because of lower life expectancy in Scotland - something that we are working hard to improve - the average woman will get £11,000 less in pension payments than counterparts in the rest of the U.K., even though she will pay exactly the same in contributions.

The truth of the matter is that countries the world over have deficits. Let us remember this about Scotland's deficit: it was not created in an independent Scotland; it was created on Westminster's watch.

I've not hidden and I'll never hide the fact that I want Scotland to be an independent country. But as long as we're part of the Westminster system, it's really important to people in Scotland that we get good decisions coming out of Westminster. So we've got a vested interest in being a constructive participant.

I've never had a voice coach, but I am about to name drop horrendously here: I did once get some advice on how to project my voice from Sean Connery, which was lovely. It's all about where you breathe. That's my claim to fame.

Sporting success doesn't happen by accident. It takes hard work and determination on the part of the individual athletes. And it also takes investment in facilities and training support.

As a veteran of many campaigns, I know how important it is not let up in the last few days.

There are lots of jobs and investment in Scotland dependent on our membership of the E.U. single market.

I consider myself a selfie specialist.

Scotland is not a region of the U.K.; Scotland is a nation, and if we cannot protect our interests within a U.K. that is going to be changing fundamentally, then that right of Scotland to consider the options of independence has to be there.

Labour's support in Scotland depends on their ability to be electable. If they are divided and unelectable, what's the point?

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.

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.