I know it’s unfashionable to say it but I love general election time.
As a fully paid-up political geek, there’s the fascination of watching the ebb and flow of the campaign trail.
And as a politician, it’s refreshing to get out of the political bubble at Holyrood and speak to people.
That’s particularly so right now because it’s clear there is a remarkable degree of political engagement across Scotland.
A poll this week found 62% of Scots regarded themselves as interested in politics, compared to just 49% south of the Border.
The reason is obvious last year’s independence referendum involved just about everybody in the country and has shaken up the old political order.
The old assumptions have been shattered. Politics is interesting again.
We all know what the polls are currently suggesting it looks like people are deserting Labour and the Lib Dems in their droves.
And the SNP is holding on to much of the support it won in the 2011 Holyrood election, when it won a majority at the Scottish Parliament.
If those polls are right, the SNP could end up with many more seats than it gained in the last general election.
Certainly, that’s what Alex Salmond thinks. On his book tour, I see he has already put those seats in his back pocket and is now already planning how “he” intends to run Westminster.
To hear him speak, it sounds very much like Alex is taking people for granted. The SNP is in danger of getting ahead of itself.
So before the campaign begins, it’s not a bad idea to ask a simple question what are we actually being asked to do here?
At its simplest, we’re electing an MP to serve in the House of Commons. And we’re electing a new government of the United Kingdom.
That government will then be faced with some massive decisions about bringing down the yawning budget deficit this country still runs, reducing the debts we’re passing on to our children and grandchildren and at the same time, ensuring we grow the economy to help fund our NHS and good quality public services.
It’s also a plain fact that one of two people will be in charge of those decisions after the election it will either be David Cameron or Ed Miliband.
I know which one the SNP is supporting. Mr Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon have already said they will put Mr Miliband in power and try and extract concessions from him to suit their own Nationalist vision.
So it’s Conservatives on one side and the SNP and Labour on the other.
In my view, if you have a mortgage, if you have credit cards or if you’re hoping to benefit from a secure economic recovery, a weak and chaotic SNP-Labour pact is not one to back.
It would lead to insecurity, not just for your job and the economy but also for the future of the country at large.
The SNP is still pushing for independence and any deal they do in this election will be done with the express purpose of pushing that agenda along.
I know many people still support that independence option and while I disagree with it, I respect it.
However, I back Scotland in the UK. And if you want security for the economy and for Britain the only option is the Scottish Conservatives.
I know times have not always been easy under this Coalition Government. But we’ve weathered the storm and unlike some other countries who are still struggling we’re coming through the other side.
For all those people who are so engaged with politics, or fed up with the Westminster establishment, I realise this “steady-as-she-goes” plan is not perhaps the flashiest of offers out there.
However, it is the choice we face. Undoing all the hard work over the past five years or going that final few yards to get us out of the red and into the black for good.
This election is not about having a free kick at the old guard, it’s about deciding who runs one of the greatest nations on Earth. At the end of the day, that’s what we’re being asked to decide this May.