Nicola Sturgeon

“I know you've got to earn people's trust, and you've got to earn it day after day after day.”

“Thatcher was the motivation for my entire political career. I hated everything she stood for.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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 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.”

“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.”

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

“The fact that healthier lifestyles and advances in medicine mean that we are living longer is actually something to be celebrated.”

“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.”

“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.”

“If Scotland was independent, we'd be the 14th richest country in the developed world.”

“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.”

“I take responsibility for everything that happens in the SNP as leader.”

“I've got absolutely no desire or intention of damaging England.”

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

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

“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.”

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