The thing that interests me most about Scotland is how we differ from our neighbours. How do our ambitions differ? What kind of society are we? What can we learn from the mistakes of the past, and how do we position ourselves in the world?

I like connecting to places by foot, and I'm interested in experiencing how somewhere like Crieff connects to somewhere like London.

For politicians to be honest, the public needs to allow them to be honest, and the media, which mediates between the politicians and the public, needs to allow those politicians to be honest. If local democracy is to flourish, it is about the active and informed engagement of every citizen.

Democracy is not simply a question of structures. It is a state of mind. It is an activity. And part of that activity is honesty.

The Constitution is worth saving, the rule of law is worth saving, democracy is worth saving, but these things can and will be lost if everyone waits around for someone else.

A democracy thrives on diversity. Tyranny oppresses it.

I always believed in burning up the government's political capital, not being Mr Safe Guy, you know?

What we need is to make our senior citizens feel secure once more with their own Social Security and Medicare. But going forward, we need to personalize that program in a way that the government can't go in and raid it any more.