Five years ago, on the eve of voting, The Herald called the General Election of 2010 the most momentous and unpredictable in a generation and said voters had the chance to bring about great change to the political landscape.

Five years on, as the Prime Minister launches this year's election, much of that political change has come to pass; much of it is still to come.

The greatest change is in how governments are formed, with the days of single-party majority governments a rather distant memory and unlikely to return any time soon. The 2010 election led to a frantic season of deal-making unknown in UK national politics for many decades and, with the 2015 polls still tighter than tight, this year's election is likely to lead to something similar. At least it makes for an unpredictable and exciting campaign. It also underlines the need for all of us, however disenchanted we may feel, to take part and vote.

This is particularly so in Scotland - for once. For many years, particularly the Thatcher years, many Scottish voters felt that their vote made no difference and that they would end up with a Tory government no matter what, but this time round the Scottish constituencies are likely to play a significant part in determining the colour and shape of the next government. Five years ago, the SNP's campaign was based on what was then a fragile hope of holding the balance of power in a hung parliament; now that hope is real.

One interesting uncertainty among all the hope for the SNP is what part Alex Salmond will play in the post-election days. Nicola Sturgeon has already said she will lead any talks with other parties and, in an interview with The Herald, the current leader of the SNP in the Commons, Angus Robertson, reveals Mr Salmond has given him a personal assurance he will not seeking the top job at Westminster. Of course, that does not shut the door entirely: if the number of Nationalist MPs does rapidly expand after May 7th and they call on Mr Salmond to lead them, he may say he has no choice to accept. He would certainly enjoy the two questions he would be entitled to at Prime Minister's Questions every week.

All this uncertainty over Mr Salmond and what role the SNP might or might not play in government will add to the uncertainty of the election, but it is by no means the only factor. Time and again, Labour and the Conservatives have been asked what they plan to cut after the election and time and again they have avoided answering. The Tories say they will cut £12billion from the welfare budget by 2017-18, but Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, refuses to say how that figure will be achieved. He says he knows it is feasible to save £12bn and says it is less than 10 per cent of the overall budget, but refuses to go into details. Could the leaked Conservative document suggesting a tax on disability benefits or limited child allowance to the first two children be true? We deserve to know.

The responsibility is not just on the Tories though: all the parties have a duty to bring clarity to the key issues, especially the economy, to help voters make an informed decision before May 7th. Before the 2010 election, there was a conspiracy of silence among all the parties about the economic pain to come. But with even greater cuts still to be imposed, such a conspiracy is simply not sustainable this time.