THERE is no such thing as an inevitability in politics — but with a Tory Party seemingly committed to the most slapstick election campaign we have ever seen and ministers doing everything they can to avoid being seen anywhere near a television camera, it is fair to say that the Conservative Party will not have the confidence of the country following July 4.

I hope, and indeed believe, that this will usher in a Labour majority government for the first time in 14 years — but in order to ensure that we need to see a considerable return of Scottish Labour MPs.

The polls suggest that this is more than possible, but we are looking at many knife-edge results all across Scotland. The choice therefore is between more of the same or new voices that will have the weight of a potential majority government behind them. Just a couple of percentage points could be the difference between five Scottish Labour MPs or 25 Scottish Labour MPs.