Nicola Sturgeon Quotes

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.'

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.

The reason I say 'never say never' is because I do not think that there should be another independence referendum in Scotland - I do not think it's in their interest - but on the other hand, I am a big believer in devolution.

Like millions of Scots, I've agonised over whether to go for independence or remain with the Union.

I am wholeheartedly in favour of an independent Scotland.

Scottish nationalism has grown since we entered the European Union.

I desperately want Scotland to be an independent country. I cannot, though, sit here and tell you definitively that it will happen, and that it will happen on this timescale, because I have to respect the opinion of the people of Scotland.

As Scots, we certainly want change today, but the change the Nationalists offer is not the change we want or need.

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.

First and foremost, Scotland is my home, and I do consider myself Scottish, but I also feel very British, and I hope that Scotland stays within the Union. I have a real concern about independence.

Independence is the only way Scotland can realise its full political and cultural potential in the 21st century.

The United Kingdom has committed the heresy of breaking the chains of the E.U. This is a signal victory for democracy. It is a slap in the face to the European system which was increasingly based on fear, blackmail, and lies.

Everyone from Silesians to Sicilians to Scots seems to want autonomy or independence. The British voted to leave the European Union, and hostility to the superstate is rising across the continent.

The Catalonian movement is quite serious; I don't think it's simply symbolic. I think that they believe that Catalonia can be more successful on its own than as part of Spain.

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

If we get outside the EU, if we leave the EU system, we will be relieved of a huge amount of unnecessary regulation that is holding this country back. We will be able to set our own priorities, make our own laws and set our own tax policies to suit the needs of this country. We have a huge opportunity also to make people's votes count for more.

Because Scotland and Northern Ireland want to remain part of the E.U., there is the quite real possibility that Scotland and even Northern Ireland might now choose to go their own way on membership within the E.U. and the 'United Kingdom' would suddenly effectively be only England and Wales.

We can have enhanced devolution - greater powers in Scotland - but within the strength, security and stability of the United Kingdom, and I think that's what most Scots want.

I am very aware of how warmly Scotland is regarded around the world, and a vote for self-determination would raise our international profile even further, with lots of benefits for Scottish arts and culture.

Why should Scotland be stopped from suggesting to the English people that we join a new union under new terms? Let's not try to dominate one another. Let's be a collection, like being in the pub with a kitty. When we vote in Scotland, we vote one way, but the other country votes another way and we always end up with what they vote for.

I believe that Greenland will achieve independence during the time I am still active in politics.

The country shall be independent, and we will be satisfied with nothing short of it.

I think I see a free and independent kingdom delivering up that which all the world hath been fighting for …, to wit a power to manage their own affairs by themselves without the assistance and counsel of any other.

The same effort that would get us Dominion Home Rule will get us a Republic.

There will be no annexation of ourselves or our territory to an independent Quebec without our consent.