Quotes

[on her party's success in the 2015 UK election] The tectonic plates in Scottish politics have shifted.

[on the realities of being a twenty-first-century politician] I know how every make of phone works. It really deeply troubles me when I come across a phone I don't know how to work in selfie mode. At night, very, very often the sorest part of my body is my cheekbones.

[on being called 'the most dangerous woman in Britain' by British tabloid The Daily Mail] It's the nicest thing the Daily Mail has said about me. I still trade off it. It did my street cred no end of good.

I did once get some advice on how to project my voice from Sean Connery. So that's my claim to fame.

[What is the best attribute you have as a leader or potential Prime Minister?] My background - I'm from Irvine in the West of Scotland - and believe I can relate to working people's aspirations far better than the Westminster elite can ever do.

[If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?] I wish I wasn't afraid of dogs... but I am.

[Setting aside your differences, which one of your political rivals has impressed you most and why?] Leanne Wood, the leader of Plaid Cymru - she was fantastic in the debates, quite rightly putting Nigel Farage in his place.

Having conversations with Theresa May was pretty soul destroying. She would never depart from a script, no matter where you tried to take the conversation... So talking to Boris, at least it was like having a conversation, albeit a bit of a crazy one.