If you want it, vote for it!

Jamie and I joined SNP activists in Kilsyth and Cumbernauld town centres yesterday, to hand out leaflets to residents about replacing the unfair Council Tax with a local income tax, based on ability to pay.

I've campaigned for the SNP across Scotland over the years, in areas where we have strong support and in areas where it seemed impossible that we could make a breakthrough any time soon.

So it is not just with a sense of optimism that I make the following statement, but with experience of talking to people in different parts of the country at many different times about the SNP and the future of Scotland.

I see a real shift in attitudes towards the SNP, our ideas and our desire for independence. People are opening their minds to us, and rather liking what they see and hear.

I see a significant difference in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth from just 4 years ago, at the last Scottish Parliament election. And it's not just dissatisfaction with Labour. People were fed up with them 4 years ago. Rather, people increasingly recognise that the SNP just wants what is best for Scotland, that we are the only party that is setting out a positive vision for the future of our country, and that we are a party that shares their values.

I am now more optimistic that this change, this increasing warmth towards the SNP, may translate into support at the ballot box. But it's not enough to count on that support. That's why I (like all my friends in the SNP) will be using all my energy over the next few weeks to speak to as many people as possible about the importance of not just supporting change, but of VOTING for it too.