First Ministers Of Scotland

"It is easier for us to talk of sacrifice and of change than it is to achieve them. Both can be difficult, sometimes painful. But we have guidance on this new path. We have ourselves, we have each other."

"Our courage and our resolve will be tested. And so too will our imagination. Because our world is changing. And if we are prepared to imagine and to shape it in new ways, we will find ourselves stronger, more free - a better, closer community."

"The of 1320 ... was a challenge not just to the ambitions of our neighbour but too many of the accepted views of that time. As a statement of the 'community of the realm', the Declaration of Arbroath may be Europe's first statement of a contractual relationship between government and citizens."

"Without the church there would be no Scotland - and something important, precious and distinctive would have been lost to the world."

"As you sowed, so Scotland reaped."

"Let no-one mistake. This Church, and other faith groups, have the ability to be agents for change and change for the better. ... You have worked to promote understanding among faiths. To tackle sectarianism. To promote development worldwide. ... And let me say that for our Parliament, that is something that may not yet be formally our responsibility. But it is, in reality, our obligation. ... In ancient times it was said that had no city walls. It did not need them, the people were the walls of Sparta. This church and our other institutions - spiritual and secular are the walls of Scotland - the rocks on which reform and renewal will be built. ... We will continue to draw on this Church as a source of wisdom. A source of strength. A source of hope."

"Any house built on sand - big or small - will not survive the storm."

"There is nothing wrong with Scotland that cannot be fixed by what is right with Scotland."

"We unite behind a declaration of self-evident truth. The people who live in Scotland are best placed to make the decisions that affect Scotland. We want a Scotland that's greener, that's fairer and more prosperous. We realise that the power of an independent Scotland is necessary to achieve these great ends...By the time we enter the referendum campaign in autumn 2014, our intention is to have one million Scots who have signed the independence for Scotland declaration. Friends, if we achieve that, then we shall win an independent Scotland."

"Scotland will not be a foreign country after independence, any more than Ireland, Northern Ireland, England or Wales could ever be “foreign countries” to Scotland."

"Membership of a supranational economic trading organisation like the EC is the antithesis of 'separation', the meaningless insult directed at the SNP by unionist parties. Membership involves obligations which cede national sovereignty for mutual benefit. Co-operation with our European partners in the functional areas--economic, trading, technical and social policies--offers an independent Scotland the chance to play a reforming part in creating a Europe of equal nations. The EC is by no means perfect and the idea of a centralised European super-state is anathema. Our view of Europe is confederal--each state proud of its national identity but willing to work and co-operate in a powerful partnership...Every member of the SNP signs a commitment to internationalism when they receive their membership card. Our progressive nationalism goes hand-in-hand with a commitment to internationalism."

"We're a country with a balance of opinion. We are not a divided country. but we're debating independence in an entirely peaceful fashion."

"For me as leader my time is nearly over, but for Scotland the campaign continues and the dream shall never die."

"The real guardians of progress are not the politicians at Westminster, or even at Holyrood, but the energised activism of tens of thousands of people who I predict will refuse meekly to go back into the political shadows."

"We now have the opportunity to hold Westminster’s feet to the fire on the “vow” that they have made to devolve further meaningful power to Scotland. This places Scotland in a very strong position."

"We lost the referendum vote but can still carry the political initiative. More importantly Scotland can still emerge as the real winner."

"I have believed in Scottish independence all my political life, I continue to believe in Scottish independence, I shall do everything I possibly can to contribute to that cause."

"I think that’s been a good kick of the ball."

"Whatever else we can say about this referendum campaign, we have touched sections of the community who've never before been touched by politics. These sections of the community have touched us and touched the political process. I don't think that will ever be allowed to go back to business as usual in politics again. So friends, sometimes it's best to reflect where we are on a journey. 45 per cent, 1.6 million of our fellow citizens voting for independence, I don't think that any of us whenever we entered politics would have thought such a thing to be either credible or possible. Today of all days as we bring Scotland together let us not dwell on the distance we have fallen short. Let us dwell on the distance we have travelled and have confidence that the movement is so broad in Scotland that it will take this nation forward and we shall go forward as one nation. Thank you very much."

"When you have the majority of a country up to the age of 55 already voting for independence, then I think the writing's on the wall for Westminster. I think Scots of my generation and above should be looking at themselves in the mirror and wonder if we by majority, as a result of our decision, have actually impeded progress for the next generation, something no generation should do. The destination is pretty certain – we're only now debating the timescale and the method. I'll contribute to that debate, but I think it's time for new leadership. There are a number of political opportunities coming up. For many, many years, a referendum route wasn't the chosen route of the SNP or Scotland. For many years, there was a gradual attitude to independence. You establish a parliament and establish successively more powers until you have a situation where you're independent in all but name, and then presumably declare yourself to be independent. Many countries have proceeded through that route – there is a parliamentary route where people can make their voice heard as well – so a referendum is only one of a number of routes. I think that’s the best route. That’s always been my opinion but my opinion is only one of many."

"When the European roof is falling in on one Prime Minister it is difficult to concentrate on just how a previous one destabilised the planet."

"It would be a mistake to believe that Chilcot and current events are entirely unconnected. The link is through the Labour Party."

"The coup was timed to avoid Corbyn calling for Blair’s head next Wednesday from the . Indeed many would say that when Corbyn stated that he would be prepared to see a former Labour Prime Minister tried for then he sealed his fate as leader of the Parliamentary Labour Party."

"Chilcot will not be a verdict, that much is clear. However, it could still supply the damning evidence for the jury to bring a conviction in. In a triumph of hope over experience my political sense tells me to expect fireworks."

"It can be argued that the lack of accountability about Iraq led Cameron on to committing many of the same blunders on a smaller scale in Libya in 2010. In Libya the UK spent thirteen times as much bombing the country as reconstructing it and the human chaos and bloody carnage of a failed state now moves like the tide across the Mediterranean."

"It is unfinished business."

"[T]o get to a position where you say to a majority of our people that you cannot have single-sex spaces – prized and worked and strived for – because of some daft ideology imported from elsewhere and, as we’ve seen, imperfectly understood by its proponents in Scotland, borders on the totally absurd. And the six per cent decline in independence vote over a month – think about that. Thirty years of gradually building, building, building until we get independence over 50 per cent and then thrown away with some self-indulgent nonsense, which even if it was right, which it is nae, would hardly be tactically the most astute manoeuvre when we're meant to be taking Scotland to its next date with destiny.""

"Salmond doesn't have any friends, he has allies."

"Like many servicemen, my father never spoke too much about the war when I was growing up. However we all are proud of him as are all families of those who served."

"The SNP's commitment to a Bill of Rights and written constitution means that we will outlaw any discrimination but we also have to eradicate it from the dark recesses of the Scottish psyche. We also have to speak out against institutionalised discrimination. For example, it is a scandal of some considerable proportions that no Catholic can sit on the throne, or marry the heir to the throne -- an attitude entrenched in law that belongs to the archaic arrangements of the eighteenth century, not the bright prospects of the twenty-first."

"She is the living memorial as to why Scots want their own parliament."

"There is not an anti-English bone in my body. I have forgotten more about English history than most Tory MPs ever learnt."

"It is an act of dubious legality, but above all one of unpardonable folly. [The bombing] may make matters even worse for the very people it is meant to be helping...if we are to sanction intervention in Serbia then the policy must be capable of achieving two things. It must be capable of weakening Milosevic and helping Kosovo. A bombing campaign will do neither, indeed the chances are it will make both worse."