KIRSTY STRICKLAND: Humza Yousaf has a lot to lose as this week's by-election sets the tone for Scottish politics

For me, and all the other residents of Rutherglen and Hamilton West, it feels very much as though our area is the centre of the political universe right now.

Parties hoping to win our votes have turned on the charm in recent months.

If this period of intense election campaigning was a courtship however, most sensible people would recognise it for what it really is.

It’s sure to be short-lived: more opportunistic fling than a love that is built to last.

Still, we’ll enjoy the lustful gaze of leading politicians being focused squarely upon our local community for now, even if we know the spell will break abruptly when the polls close on Thursday night.

The upcoming by-election, triggered by the removal of SNP MP Margaret Ferrier, is being fiercely contested by the two main parties in with a chance of winning the seat.

Margaret Ferrier Scottish Government — Margaret Ferrier.

For Humza Yousaf, the SNP retaining the seat would be a hopeful sign that the election-winning magic of his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon hasn’t been lost.

And for Keir Starmer and his Scotland lieutenant Anas Sarwar, a victory would surely be heralded as a major breakthrough in the fightback against the Nats and the cause of independence itself.

It is precisely because the stakes are so high that both parties have been keen to manage expectations.

It’s a marginal seat and every canvasser I’ve met in our street has stressed that, as things stand, the race is too close to call.

While you get the sense that the post-match analysis has already been written for both possible outcomes, the turnout on the day will tell us as much about what the result might mean for the next general election as the vote itself will.

Has the SNP done enough to motivate its core vote to get out to the polls? The danger for the incumbent party comes more from SNP supporters feeling fatigued by the party’s current troubles than it does their pro-indy voters suddenly switching to anti-referendum Labour.

Our street is normally a dead zone around election time. We usually get a few postal leaflets but very rarely will you see a real-life canvasser.

But this by-election has brought all the boys to my yard.

I’ve had no fewer than three Labour canvassers knocking on my door.

One was so thrilled to see both me and my neighbour in the close at the same time that he stumbled into the wall and broke my neighbour’s doorbell in his excitement.

I wasn’t at home on either of the occasions the SNP came to call, but MP Tommy Sheppard got glowing reports from a few of my neighbours that he spoke to.

Anecdote is not data, of course, but from conversations I’ve had, the rule-breaking that led to Margaret Ferrier’s departure doesn’t seem to be as much of a factor in this election as you would expect it to be.

Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituents have the same concerns as voters in the rest of the country do.

The rising costs of energy, food and housing is making life feel like a slog for ordinary people, and that is surely something that voters here will be thinking about as they head to the polling station on Thursday.

The question is, which party do they trust to help alleviate these problems?

Thursday’s by-election will set the tone for the next general election campaign, which is expected to be held in Autumn next year.

Keir Starmer and Humza Yousaf have as much to lose as they do to gain.

So I’ll be expecting a few more knocks on my door in the days ahead.

I’ve been feeling slightly frazzled of late.

It’s as though I’m in a constant battle against the sands of time, as I try to squeeze an ever-increasing list of jobs and tasks into each day.

It doesn’t help that this cost of living crisis and a recent rent increase means I’ve had to take on many more hours at work.

Between that, the driving lessons, my volunteering and my daughter’s various clubs and activities, there simply isn’t enough time to sit very still – which is my absolute favourite thing to do.