IT’S very nearly all over bar the voting. Tomorrow the campaigns will come to an end, the street stalls will be folded away, and the Scottish people will enter the polling booths and find their democratic voice.

Only it won’t actually be over. Quite the opposite, in fact. If the polls prove to be correct – and there’s no reason to suggest they’re not – then we will be at the start of a new and massively invigorating period for Scottish politics.

On Friday morning, we may see the SNP represented in the Commons in hopefully big numbers – a powerful enough cohort to have a real impact on the way the UK and Scotland are governed.

It’s a hugely exciting prospect. At last, our voice will be strong, will really matter at Westminster, and we’ll have more opportunities to create a fairer, better and more equal society, forging a political settlement in tune with the hopes and aspirations of the Scottish people.

For younger people, we’ll protect free tuition fees and offer 30,000 modern apprenticeships a year as well as a minimum wage target of £8.70 an hour by 2020.

Families will see a near-doubling of free childcare and lower energy bills.

Older folk can enjoy the prospect of a triple-lock protected pension with a single-tier rate of £160 a week, with a review of the planned increase in the state retirement age.

There will also be support for business through easier finance plus a push for prompt payment legislation so small businesses are paid on time.

For everyone, there’s not just a guarantee that the Scottish Government will always keep healthcare in public hands, but also a pledge of an extra £2 billion for our NHS by 2020-21.

These are big ticket improvements, paid for through an affordable increase in departmental spending of half a per cent above inflation.

That means we can invest another £140 billion in public services and infrastructure while still paying down the deficit and debt.

This is an agenda for all of Scotland, and one which will resonate and deliver across the rest of the UK too.

It really will bring positive changes to people’s lives – for instance, by lifting people out of poverty, creating more affordable homes, supporting business and providing more support for carers.

This is a programme for change which is sensible and populist, but it’s also forward thinking and radical.

For instance, cancelling attacks on welfare will make a marked difference to a million disabled people across the UK, rescuing them from planned Tory cuts of more than £1,000 a year.

And then there’s Trident. For families across Scotland, getting rid of a new generation of nuclear weapons on the Clyde means more, and not less, comfort and security. The way to protect our children is to scrap these hideous relics of the Cold War, not to upgrade them.

To anyone who has watched the same old tired, reactionary politics played out between David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg over the past few weeks, the SNP’s offering is compelling and optimistic – joyful, even.

This trio has fed us a depressing, patronising and cynical vision of the future, presented in trite sound bites, unbelievable promises and baseless, all-consuming negativity. And, of course, they’ve heaped insult upon insult on Scotland.

The comparisons with the SNP could not be starker. Our campaign has been open, honest and focused on positive change and delivery. They have fallen over themselves making gossamer promises to their own interest groups: by contrast, we have struck a contract with common sense.

It’s been fantastic to see Nicola Sturgeon emerge as by far the most effective UK political leader during this campaign.

She is convincing, passionate, imaginative and inspirational, but never hectoring or abrasive.

In an era when cynicism often justifiably infects politics, Nicola has earned voter trust and respect.

As a woman with poise and huge intelligence but no airs and graces, many voters see her as the honest broker of their own aspirations.

Before a single vote is cast in a polling station, she has changed Scottish and UK politics forever.

Along with Leanne Wood from Plaid Cymru and Natalie Bennett of the Greens, our First Minister has revitalised democratic engagement across these islands.

In the future, we’re going to see far more of women at the pinnacle of politics. That’s a huge win.

So here we are. Our promises and our vision for a new and better Scotland have been laid out. Tomorrow, the people will speak.

Let’s be stronger for Scotland, and vote SNP. It’s time.