THE snow has barely melted and spring not yet arrived, but something is already stirring in the political undergrowth.

The tantalising scent of elections is animating parties big and small in every part of the UK as devolved, local and mayoral contests approach.

One tangible sign of the change comes from the Electoral Commission, which is responsible for assessing and approving (or not) what parties want to call themselves in May.

These “party descriptions” can sit by the official name on campaign material and on the ballot paper.

Each party is entitled to register 12 variants, and they can refer to specific elections, policies or candidates.

Probably the best-known and most successful example in Scotland was in 2007 when the SNP registered “Alex Salmond for First Minister”, a clear statement of intent as well as a nifty way of securing the top spot on the alphabetically-ordered regional ballot.

In the first four weeks of 2021, the Electoral Commission published weekly notices setting out proposed new descriptions from nine parties, most of them thoroughly obscure.

But last week, the number of parties applying to register new descriptions suddenly leapt to 40.

While most where equally marginal - I don’t think the Count Binface and Psychedelic Future parties should be girding themselves for power after polling day - others were not.

Both the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives have also applied to update their descriptions.

And this is where it gets interesting for the Holyrood election, and shows the pandemic and its aftermath especially will be intensely political.

The UK Liberal Democrats applied to register “Scottish Liberal Democrats - Put Recovery First”.

While the UK Tories applied to register two descriptions for Scotland, their first to look north since 2017.

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Like the LibDems’ slogan, these declare the recovery, not the constitution, must be the priority.

“End Division, No Referendum, Rebuild Scotland,” runs one.

“Not Another Referendum, Time for Recovery,” runs the other.

Now, the Electoral Commission, may ultimately decline to approve some or all of these.

But even if refused permission to put the descriptions on the ballot paper, the parties can still use them in campaign literature and adverts.

Once Scottish Labour has a new leader, I’d expect UK Labour to register something similar for the Holyrood campaign as well.

After all, who wouldn’t want to be the party of the recovery? Details may be hard to come by, but feel that warm glow - it’s the new mom and apple pie.

The new descriptions clearly show the terrain on which the Unionist parties hope to fight the SNP.

They know they cannot avoid the constitutional question, and they know that arguing for the Union and devolution against independence hasn’t been working.

So they will try to make the election a choice between the constitutional grind and getting the country back on its feet, between the SNP’s political goal and the people’s priorities.

By painting themselves as whole-hearted pro-recovery parties, the clear implication will be that the SNP is some kind of anti-recovery party.

Not actively hostile to economic recovery, of course, but culpably negligent in its approach all the same.

The party of “Yes, we want a recovery, but we also have this other thing to do too. It’s just a small detour through a second referendum campaign, fraught negotiations with London, tortured legislative games, teething problems, maybe a new currency, maybe rejoining the EU, yet more teething problems etc.

“Let’s call it half a lifetime and then straight on to the recovery.”

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Above all, the election will be pitched as a choice between action and talk. Do you want recovery or do you want ruts and repetition? Vigour and focus or the same old patter?

For despite touting the most radical policy at the election by a mile, the SNP, with 14 years under its belt, will be accused of being too tame and lazy for the times, unwilling or unable to leave its comfort zone of cross-border rows, process arguments and pointless 11-point plans, as dull and complacent as a pig dozing in its midden.

Please note, I am not saying this is a fair or true characterisation, but I am wagering it will be the one being made to a weary nation in the months ahead.

It also contains a sufficient kernel of truth - because for the SNP, independence is always the best thing to do next - that might see it stick.

The SNP have yet to show their hand in the campaign.

Their three registered party descriptions - two mentioning Nicola Sturgeon - haven’t been updated since the last Holyrood election.

So far they’ve been playing up their plans for publishing a Referendum Bill for Indyref2, despite Boris Johnson being able to veto or ignore it.

It will be fascinating to see their take on the recovery in the coming months.

When they raise it (and it’s unavoidable), does that play into Unionist hands, and where would it sit in their list of priorities?

They may argue independence and recovery are interlinked, and that the first maximises the second.

But people know it took the best part of five years to deliver Brexit and it is currently creating new problems while failing to fix old ones.

The recovery can’t wait.

Perhaps the SNP will stick with the same formula as 2016 and promote Ms Sturgeon. It’s worked so far.

But these are new times, and old messages will look tired.