Nicola Sturgeon Quotes & Sayings

I'm the leader of the SNP. I think you would expect me to say I would vote SNP in whatever constituency I lived in. — Nicola Sturgeon

People don't want to go back to the days, pre-referendum, when the Westminster establishment sidelined and ignored Scotland. They want Scotland's voice to be heard. — Nicola Sturgeon

I don't know Ed Miliband as a person particularly well. — Nicola Sturgeon

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. — Nicola Sturgeon

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. — Nicola Sturgeon

In particular, I want to set a challenge to public bodies and private companies to improve gender balance on their own boards. — Nicola Sturgeon

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. — Nicola Sturgeon

If you have a Tory government at Westminster that takes us out of Europe against our will, there may be people in Scotland who think, 'You know what, we might be better off independent.' — Nicola Sturgeon

I was studious and bookish. Not just as a child but also as a teenager. I took myself too seriously. — Nicola Sturgeon

I'm not a scientist. If there is a risk to our environment, there will be no fracking. — Nicola Sturgeon

It is clear that my predecessor as First Minister is frightening the life out of the Tories and the Labour Party. Long may it continue. — Nicola Sturgeon

If something can be proven to work, we should try it ... Making sure that our young folk get the best education is the only thing that matters to me, and if something can be shown to work in doing that or if something's worth trying to do that, then I'll certainly be in the market for it. — Nicola Sturgeon

Talent is really important in politics, but experience is also really important. — Nicola Sturgeon

The importance of education is ingrained in Scottish history. — Nicola Sturgeon

I think Scotland will become an independent country. I've always believed that. It means that if I'm right on that, there has to be another referendum at some stage. But the timing and circumstances of that will require careful judgment. — Nicola Sturgeon

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. — Nicola Sturgeon

I do not want to see, for any reason, the Tories resurgent in any way. — Nicola Sturgeon

Most politicians come into politics because they want to make a difference; we just have different ideas how to do it. — Nicola Sturgeon

I'm not making any secret of the fact I still believe in independence. We'll continue to argue the case. — Nicola Sturgeon

These are human beings with real lives and the uncertainty and the fear that any of them face right now could be ended at a stroke if we had all the candidates for prime minister simply say that the right to remain here is not in question and I call again upon Theresa May and on the current prime minster to do that. That would be the humane thing to do and I even at this stage hope that that's a direction they will take. — Nicola Sturgeon

I am a believer in people succeeding on merit. — Nicola Sturgeon

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

The Scottish Government will continue to do all it can to get people into work. — Nicola Sturgeon

The debate around the ageing population should, in my view, focus much more on how we grow the active, working population. — Nicola Sturgeon

We've chosen to stay part of the Westminster system, but we don't want to be a forgotten, sidelined part of it. — Nicola Sturgeon

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. — Nicola Sturgeon

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

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. — Nicola Sturgeon

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. — Nicola Sturgeon

I am a social democrat - I believe in pursuing greater equality and tackling social justice - but ... you can't do that unless you have got a strong economy, unless you have got a vibrant business base earning the wealth that makes that possible. — Nicola Sturgeon

I've not had a deliberate image makeover. — Nicola Sturgeon

One thing we've learned is that there's not anything that Nigel Farage won't blame on foreigners. — Nicola Sturgeon

I think it is disgraceful. I think it is completely disgusting that you've got a candidate for prime minster who seems to think that human beings are bargaining chips. — Nicola Sturgeon

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. — Nicola Sturgeon

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. — Nicola Sturgeon

At these big set-piece events like the leaders' debates, that exterior of calm and serenity is nothing compared to what's going on inside most of the time. — Nicola Sturgeon

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

I've had particularly unpleasant stuff, and it has been reported that I've had death threats. Twitter and Facebook give people who have always been out there a platform from which to hurl abuse, and all I can do is try to block it out and remind myself that tweets are transient and get lost in the ether after a few moments. — Nicola Sturgeon

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. — Nicola Sturgeon

Our MPs will take decisions on how they're voting on a day-to-day basis. But I'm the leader of the party, and in terms of our overall strategy and how we vote on key issues, then ultimately, those decisions will be mine. — Nicola Sturgeon

A whole range of things are done to ensure services remain safe and sustainable because that is the absolute paramount duty of the health board. — Nicola Sturgeon

We already know that social security is more affordable in Scotland than it is in the rest of the U.K. - spending on social protection takes up a smaller share of our economic output and our tax revenues than is the case in the U.K. as a whole. — Nicola Sturgeon

Scotland has been re-energized, and people all over the country have become involved in - and informed about - politics and government in a way that I have never known before. In short, we have put ourselves firmly in control of our country. — Nicola Sturgeon

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

I love talking to the public, I love hearing what people have got to say. — Nicola Sturgeon

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. — Nicola Sturgeon

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

Many hard working people in low paid jobs get housing benefit. — Nicola Sturgeon

An independent Scotland could afford pensions full stop - after all, it is our taxes and national insurance contributions that fund them now. — Nicola Sturgeon

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

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

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. — Nicola Sturgeon

I was fascinated, long before I joined the SNP, in the world around me; current affairs really interested me. — Nicola Sturgeon

I take responsibility for everything that happens in the SNP as leader. — Nicola Sturgeon

This government and the party that I lead will continue to argue an alternative to the Tory-Labour austerity. — Nicola Sturgeon

I'm manifestly not the same as Alex Salmond. I'm a different gender, for example ... I'm being flippant, but maybe this is a partly gender-driven difference: I'm very keen that we find a way of reaching out across party divides to find things we agree on, as well as the things we disagree on. — Nicola Sturgeon

I should say that being independent in the modern model means independent in a very interdependent world. An independent Scotland is not apart from the rest of the United Kingdom. — Nicola Sturgeon

I am quite driven. I know what I think, and I know what I want to achieve, but I also hope that people who are asked to describe me would describe me as pretty down-to-earth, loyal, friendly. The more experience I have got in politics, I think the more I have allowed me to shine through. — Nicola Sturgeon

The SNP became a minority government in 2007, then a majority one in 2011. But Labour viewed what was happening as some kind of aberration. They felt the problem wasn't theirs: they didn't have to change; the Scottish people had just gone down this wrong road, and if they waited long enough, they would find their way back. — Nicola Sturgeon

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. — Nicola Sturgeon

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. — Nicola Sturgeon

London has a centrifugal pull on talent, investment and business from the rest of Europe and the world. That brings benefits to the broader U.K. economy. — Nicola Sturgeon

I thought if people were going to talk about what I wear, wouldn't it be good if they were talking about who designed it, who made it and if that's a Scottish company, so teaming up with Totty Rocks has been fantastic. — Nicola Sturgeon

Polls can change; people's opinions can change. Voting intentions can change, and I think it would be a silly leader, a silly political party, that would assume that we have it sewn up. — Nicola Sturgeon

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

It would be a very odd chancellor of any UK government that insisted on a course of action that cost their own businesses hundreds of millions of pounds, that blew a massive hole in their balance of payments and, because assets and liabilities go hand in hand, would potentially leave the rest of the UK shouldering the entirety of UK debt. — Nicola Sturgeon

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. — Nicola Sturgeon

If there are healthy - and growing - numbers of people working and paying taxes, we are better able to pay the costs of people living longer. — Nicola Sturgeon

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. — Nicola Sturgeon

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. — Nicola Sturgeon

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. — Nicola Sturgeon

I worry about the direction of the U.K. and U.K. politics and governance in the event of a Brexit. — Nicola Sturgeon

Equality and prosperity shouldn't be seen as enemies of each other, but as partners. One reinforces the other. — Nicola Sturgeon

My message is a simple one - the E.U. is not perfect, but Scotland's interests are best served by being a member. — Nicola Sturgeon

A minority government can't govern without support from other parties. — Nicola Sturgeon

People in Scotland don't take too kindly to being lectured by a Tory Chancellor. — Nicola Sturgeon

If Scotland was independent, we'd be the 14th richest country in the developed world. — Nicola Sturgeon

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. — Nicola Sturgeon

I am quite a shy person. You say that to people, and they say, 'You do interviews, speeches. How can you be shy?' But, fundamentally, I am. — Nicola Sturgeon

Is it not typical that we have a Tory Government that wants, just like its pals in the Labour Party, constantly to talk down Scotland's prospects? — Nicola Sturgeon

My politics are wildly different from hers, but someone who has been good for women in politics, stamped her authority on European and world affairs, is Angela Merkel. — Nicola Sturgeon

Scotland never voted for Margaret Thatcher. — Nicola Sturgeon

The fact is Scottish Labour has lost its way. — Nicola Sturgeon

Scottish politics, U.K. politics, is not really like American politics in this respect. Not everybody is absolutely obsessed with image. I'm not saying the United States is obsessed with image. — Nicola Sturgeon

I think the first decision I took when I became a government minister was to reverse the planned closure of Monklands Accident and Emergency. It's an issue close to my heart. — Nicola Sturgeon

My pledge to you is that the SNP will put women and gender equality right at the heart of the Westminster agenda. — Nicola Sturgeon

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

I know you've got to earn people's trust, and you've got to earn it day after day after day. — Nicola Sturgeon

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

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

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

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

It's not opinion polls that determine the outcome of elections, it's votes in ballot boxes. — Nicola Sturgeon

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. — Nicola Sturgeon

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

I was very proud, on just my second day in office, to appoint a gender-balanced cabinet - one of only three in the developed world. — Nicola Sturgeon

There is nothing in your background that inherently holds you back or means you can't achieve what others can achieve. You are the master of your own fate, and if you work hard, you can do what you want. — Nicola Sturgeon

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

I hope nobody in England is afraid of the SNP - there is absolutely no need to be. — Nicola Sturgeon

Since I became First Minister, I have made clear my priority to alleviate poverty and tackle inequality in Scotland. Ensuring that everyone can do better in life will not only make Scotland fairer, but it will also make it a more prosperous place. — Nicola Sturgeon