Alex Salmond
174 quotes
Biography
Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond was a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure in the Scottish nationalist movement, he was Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) on two occasions, from 1990 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2014.
"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."
"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."
"This Prime Minister must be drummed from office and we will use each and every opportunity to make that a reality...But this Prime Minister deserves to be impeached - and we, with others, will present the case that he should be required to answer...I believe that this Prime Minister now operates outside the currency of debate, beyond the pale of decency...I don't just challenge the policies of Tony Blair, I challenge his morality...This is not a question of this Prime Minister - any prime minister - making a judgement call and just being wrong. It is not a matter, as Blair would have us believe, of someone acting in good faith and making an honest mistake. This is a man who buried the intelligence that was inconvenient, manipulated the information to suit his purpose, and entered into a secret pact with the American President to go to war come what may."
"It would be much easier if we had the full powers of an independent country. Therefore I was anticipating being in that position by 2017."
"It's not to pretend you can do everything, but if people like you – in the sense of admiring or having respect for what you are trying to do – then they will understand the odd blemish. If people don't like you, and lack confidence in what you are trying to do, they won't forgive you anything."
"Am I miffed now? No! It's the best thing that could have happened. We were saved! We were saved!"
"Come on, this is big stuff. These are all tackling underlying issues – it's not just a question of striking and announcements."
"We have the political engine behind us. We have a public that is willing to listen to the arguments we are putting forward, and we will gain converts to those arguments. We believe people will come to the right conclusion. We trust them."
"My favourite is a hung parliament with 20 SNP MPs. I want to be calling the shots, organising the tune."
"No matter the lie, even if I was on my own, I'd have to play it. I can hear my dad saying: 'Play the ball as it lies.' Because of the way I was taught, I would feel awful about it. I don't know if that makes me dead honest or dead stupid."
"I do have a strong faith and always have had, I’m not a regular churchgoer now but I’m in church a lot – to do readings, to attend events and so on. I had a strong church upbringing which I think has been invaluable to me in terms of a moral compass – of some idea of what’s acceptable and what is not acceptable. I have a Presbyterian nature in that I like its ideas of individual responsibility and democracy. I’m naturally suspicious of people who wear religion heavily on their sleeves – that’s just not me and my style."
"I don’t think we should get to the state in this or any other country that if someone has a faith they are regarded as curious. Given that [Blair] had that framework – and it’s not for me to question his personal beliefs – then why on earth was he employing folk who so clearly didn’t?"
"The campaign was disgusting. It split on religious lines. It was one of those moments when you thought that ‘if politics is going to be like this, I’d like to go and do something else’."
"The Church was the anchor, the rock of the independence movement in the days of Wallace and Bruce, it was the only institutional force that could be relied upon – it certainly wasn’t the nobles."
"You are able to have disagreements as long as you’re straight talking – you say honestly what can and can’t be done."
"Let’s not pretend we’re in a worse position than we were half a century ago. That’s just not true. Then, sectarianism was inculcated into life, politics, business – into all sorts of institutions where prejudice should have no part whatsoever. That has largely gone. That Monklands byelection was one of the last redoubts of religion dividing politics."
"I’m not sure we should ask the Church to be pragmatic. Politicians have to be – that’s part of the balancing of the public interest – but I don’t think that’s the job of the Church. The whole point in having a religion and faith is that you campaign for what you believe, not just for what you think is achievable."
"It is time to get down to business. Scotland's new politics starts now. ... Let's start as we mean to continue - with respect for diversity of opinion."
"I do not favour the mushy ground of false consensus. The public interest is not served by parties incapable of defining their driving principles and standing their ground. Politics is either about the competition of ideas or it is about nothing. But just as the public interest is served by that competition, so it is ultimately better served by thoughtful reflection rather just than knee-jerk reaction."
"About my approach to law making. Despite waiting a long time - a very, very long time - to govern, it is not my position that legislative change is always or often the best way to effect change."
"A Parliament's job is not just to legislate but to debate, to enquire and to understand."
"We see barriers to business as barriers to national progress."