Nicola Sturgeon through the eyes of Londoners

The contrasting views come from the streets of London, where Scotland is increasingly preying on English minds as the Nationalist poll ratings rise and rise further in this most unpredictable of general elections.

At the heart of the metropolis in the City of London lies Smithfield, once the site of medieval tournaments, then the debauchery of St Bartholomew's Fair and since Victorian times home to now the last meat market in the Square Mile, selling 150,000 tons of meat each year.

Across the road is a testament to another dark chapter in the area's past, the memorial to Scottish patriot Sir William Wallace, who like many others at this spot met a grisly end.

The memorial is bedecked with flowers, saltires and messages; one reads: "In memory of William Wallace, a true and noble Scot from the Sons of the Clan Fraser of Lovat."

While passers-by whizz past the historical dedication without a glance, the battle over Scotland's future continues albeit with words not weapons.

In Duke's Park, placed in between the memorial and the famous meat market, Scott Burgess, a burly 48-year-old Smithfield butcher, sits relaxing after a hard night's graft in his white smock and trousers.

"Scotland? It's not good," he declares. "The SNP look like they could win all the seats and then they'll pick who they want to run the Government; they'll have the balance of power. But why should we be dictated to by a party in Scotland that doesn't even want to be part of the UK? It doesn't make sense."

A colleague fears if the Nationalists did well on May 7, then it would be a case of the Scottish tail wagging the English dog; Ms Sturgeon would "bleed us all dry".

Fellow butcher Jason Vaughan from Sidcup, admits to being bemused and confused by all the electioneering but when the S-word is mentioned, the 44-year-old puffs out his chest and defends the Union.

"As I see it, we are all one nation and we should work together. We have got the Scots' power and if they win, they'll have some of our power. That's democracy. I just think we should all try to get on."

His colleague, Philip Yates from Illford - affectionately known as "the only gay in the market" - is equally undecided.

"I don't want Labour to get in; that Miliband looks like something out of Wallace and Gromit. Cameron is too weak. I don't want the SNP or Ukip to get in. Before, I knew who to vote for but this year, I really don't. I could see me voting Green."

The 51-year-old then insists: "Nicola Sturgeon would make a great prime minister. It's about time we had another woman prime minister. Women in power; more fairness. A pink Union Jack!"

A few yards away at the Wacky Barbers in Long Lane, there is definitely no talk of pink Union Jacks. A fellow meat market worker of 40 years' standing, now retired, takes a rather different view.

As the tattooed barber trims away, the customer, who politely declines to give his name, declares: "Scotland is Scotland. Nicola Sturgeon's a Communist. Alex Salmond? He's for independence. Why change something that's been good for 300 years?" He pauses and snips: "The Scots have never really liked the English."

So, having Labour propped up by the Nationalists would not be good for Britain? "Double true," he insists in his north London accent.

And yet the forthright customer accepts Scottish independence will probably happen one day. "It's like everything; if you carry on and carry on, you'll eventually get it. It doesn't bother me though. I'm too old for it to bother me."

At the trendy St John eaterie, Ian Campbell, the bar manager, is preparing for a busy lunch-time.

"Scotland is definitely an issue this time round. Nicola Sturgeon is successfully improving her profile and coming out well in the campaign but," he pauses and notes, "some people can't stand her."

Originally from Newcastle and whose father hails from Dundee, Mr Campbell admits he has voted Labour "out of reflex".

He notes how over the years Scottish Labour has had a "moderating influence" on England and that if that were to be removed, then south of the border there would be "a 1000-year" Conservative rule.

Nearby at the White Bear, which happens to be a Rangers Bar, landlord Bryan "Oz" Heatley, sits nonchalantly stroking his pet poodles Bo and Poppit. Once a Tory supporter, politics appears now to have now passed him by.

"Whoever gets in, it will all end up the same," he complains. "They make promises and don't deliver."

The 66-year-old adds: "I'm not worried about Scotland. Scots have their own parliament up there; good luck to them." Asked if he has been impressed by Ms Sturgeon's performance, he replies: "Never heard of him."

Down the road at the site of an office block refurbishment, taking a rest from their toils, a group of painters and decorators express their own bewilderment at the most unpredictable election of their lifetimes.

Labour-supporting Richard Telford, 57, raised in Liverpool but who ventured to the Big Smoke in the early 1980s, says this election is proving difficult to call. "When you're a kid you don't bother with politics but as you get older you realise it affects every aspect of your life. But this time round it's really hard. You just don't know what influence the Scots will have."

Billy Meikle, 62, originally from Strathclyde but has lived and worked in London for the past 20 years, echoes a previous view. "Sturgeon is good as what she does. She's another Margaret Thatcher. She would make a good prime minister."

Round the corner at the Sutton Arms, local fixture Mick Dugnan, the landlord, does not mince his words.

"If we got the Scottish bird, things would really change at Westminster and not in a good way. Boris is getting stronger. Osborne isn't doing a bad job. I trust Cameron; anyone else would just f*** things up."

That's one way of putting it.

Just across the city boundary at the White Cross market with its sizzling street-food aromas, Marie Cornu, a 25-year-old French migrant worker from Dijon, sells colourful macaroons and meringues.

A former party worker for the right-wing Front Nationale in France, she pins her colours down quite firmly; not for Mr Farage but for Mr Cameron. "The Front Nationale is not Ukip; they're completely different. Cameron is a great prime minister; he is trying to protect his country."

She confesses the British election is somewhat confusing but makes clear Scotland should stay in the UK and that a Labour-SNP alliance would be problematical. If she had a vote in Britain? "I would probably vote for the Conservatives."

As the result of the election hangs in the balance, perhaps part of the inscription to the Wallace Memorial at Smithfield will serve to bolster SNP spirits in the wake of the referendum result, noting, as it does, how Wallace's example inspired those who came after him "to win victory from defeat".