Cuts on the agenda
UPDATE AT 1646: In his speech, David Cameron gives Alex Salmond a right skelping - then promises to work consensually with him, should he end up in government.
Not the contradiction it might seem. Mr Cameron's tactic is to attempt to exclude the SNP from this upcoming UK General Election, to suggest that they are somehow irrelevant.
In particular, he notes that Mr Salmond will not be entering Downing Street.
In response, the Nationalists say that they can play a role at Westminster - if they have a sufficiently substantial bloc of MPs.
His second message - that of consensus - is also aimed at Scots voters.
He believes that voters like to hear, especially in a period of economic difficulty, that parties are prepared to collaborate.
More precisely, this message is an attempt to counter the argument that the Tories would have no mandate to govern Scotland, should they have very few Scots MPs.
In essence, Mr Cameron is offering a shared mandate: reserved issues controlled by the PM, devolved issues in the hands of the FM.
In that respect, he is attempting to make a virtue out of political necessity.
The other big message from Mr Cameron was one of change: change in his own party, a departure from the Thatcherite past.
The Tory strategy has been, firstly, to stress the personal leadership of David Cameron; secondly, to promise spending cuts to tackle the deficit; thirdly, to stress that those cuts would be early but not savage.
They know that, to reinforce that, they need to persuade people that those cuts would not particularly harm the poorest and weakest in society.
They know that is a vulnerable point for the Tories: that, while people might accept the need for constraint, they remain concerned that the Tories would apply these cuts in a heartless way. Hence, that message of change, hence that talk of solidarity.
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Pre-empting the Winter Olympics (go, curlers), the Tories are holding their annual conference today in an ice rink: the one in Perth. And their economic message is comparably chilly.
Speaker after speaker, each one a Westminster candidate, all warning that an incoming Conservative government will focus upon cutting spending rather than increasing taxation in order to tackle the budget deficit.
On Good Morning Scotland, Michael Gove makes the same point while stressing that cuts would not be "insensitive". Translated, that of course means that the Tories would seek to minimise the vote-losing potential. Might be a tricky gig as it is for the other parties.
Would Scotland be penalised in particular through scrapping the Barnett Formula? Tories say they'd seek, eventually, to pursue a needs-based review of expenditure across the UK - but would also seek to ensure that Scotland is not particularly disadvantaged.
Again, that might be a tricky challenge although, as I have written here before, I think that the Cameronians are chilling somewhat on the early enthusiasm for big change on this issue.
Cuts, though, there will be, both in Scotland and throughout the UK. But Tories insist they'd protect the health service - and challenge the Scottish government to do likewise, health being devolved.
Another message delivered by David Mundell, the Shadow Scottish Secretary, concerned promoting economic growth with policies targeted on stimulating business, for example by trimming tax on the first 10 people employed by a small firm.
Mr Mundell drew warm applause for an attack upon the SNP. Alex Salmond has forecast that his party will take 20 Westminster seats - and hold the balance of power. David Mundell ridiculed each of these ambitions in turn.
Stand by for David Cameron this afternoon.
I'm 
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