Last week I suggested the General Election campaign was at long last officially underway and was shaping up to be historic. The first seven days have not disappointed me.

The Thursday night Leader's debate on ITV was so damned refreshing. Instead of the usual stale stuff equivalent to three baldy men fighting over a comb here was some real politics of choice from Nicola, Leanne and Natalie representing the SNP, Plaid Cymru and the Greens.

Instead of the usual piffle these three women argued passionately and sensibly. I particularly admired their 'no brainer' that the response to economic depression is not to depress things further through austerity measures but to invest in more public services and jobs.

It makes straightforward sense doesn't it? Pay people a decent wage to deliver vital services which people rely on and those workers will spend their earnings and pay taxes. It is a win, win situation.

The Tory/Lib brigade think driving millions into low paid, zero-contract jobs solves unemployment. It solves nothing. It really is the economics of the madhouse. Only the wealthy gain.

I also totally agreed with the three women on their strong commitment to invest more in public services, not less. They said spend £100 billion on schools and hospitals not on a new generation of immoral and illegal nuclear weapons. No wonder they were so well received across the UK.

Bairns not Bombs

On Saturday Tommy, Gabrielle and I attended the Bairns Not Bombs demo in George Square. Over the years we have taken our wee daughter to many CND rallies. So much so that she made her own PEACE placard many years ago and has carried it faithfully to Faslane and George Square.

On Saturday she proudly dragged it out again.

There was a brilliant turnout at the demo of over 10,000. Yet the day's media was dominated not by how many stood up for peace and nuclear disarmament but with an allegation that Nicola Sturgeon confessed to a French diplomat that she preferred Cameron to be PM over Milliband. Nicola has described the allegation as "100% untrue" but as the great Mark Twain pointed out many years ago 'lies are half-way around the world before the truth has got its boots on'.

A well-known Tory supporting paper branded Nicola 'the most dangerous woman' in Britain. How pathetic and how desperate I thought.

The response of the Labour party was weak, unprincipled and unprofessional. Instead of a ignoring it or at least checking the story's accuracy, they chose to believe a major Tory paper attacking Scotland's First Minister.

It would have suited them better to ignore it and see it for what it was? Surely they should have refused to comment on the basis that these Tory papers are no friends of theirs? Instead they were all over the pathetic story like a nasty rash. Jim Murphy and his deputy Ms Keizia Dugdale attacked a fellow politician for doing something she didn't do. Ms Dugdale spread the lies on her twitter account alongside a snide remark. No wonder Labour in Scotland is heading for a drubbing in May if this is the quality of their leadership.

I reckon it has all back-fired spectacularly. Nobody with half a brain cell believes Nicola wants the Tories to win the General Election. She has spent her whole adult life fighting them. Support for her and the SNP will continue to grow while they stand up for ordinary people against austerity cuts and for nuclear disarmament.

As her political opponents were regurgitating pathetic lies on Saturday she was addressing over 10,000 folk up at the Square. That is the real story. Bairns Not Bombs was the message on Saturday. Pity the Labour party didn't send along their leaders to address the massive crowd. No, they were too busy spreading rubbish about Scotland's First Minister to attend or support that message.