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Aberdeen: it's warmer than you'd think, only a week after a snowstorm.

And with an economy in rude health - relatively speaking, at least - I've been sampling opinion on the dominant economic issue in the election campaign.

My results have a margin of error of up to 100%. That is, they may be wholly wrong.

But if they point to anything, they suggest people recognise there are tax increases on the way.

And they know they're going to have to shoulder some of that burden. They're not just looking for others to do so.

They seemed more willing to admit than for many years that they're going to vote Scottish Conservative.

And that didn't include any Tory stereotypes. Even the party's opponents in Aberdeen have noticed that from their canvassing.

Being Tory in Scotland may at last be losing its stigma.

The message that seems to be working among those willing to vote Conservative is "it's time for change".

No-one I spoke to mentioned whether they like David Cameron or not. Nor did they talk about Gordon Brown.

Personalities don't seem to be the issue.

I asked people to make the big choices the next Chancellor will face - higher taxes or lower spending: higher income and payroll taxes or more on VAT: tackle the deficit now or wait a bit while the recovery takes hold?

In several of these cases, they made the opposite choice to David Cameron and George Osborne, though they may not have known it.

Though it's dominating headlines, few understand National Insurance.

And despite being opposed to Tory policy, these same people were still willing to back Conservatives.

That much should serve as an election time reminder: we expect the parties and politicians to be consistent, and we criticise them if they're not.

But voters are persistently inconsistent in what they want and expect, and that gets tolerated, because - for a month or so - they're the ones in charge.

Now, there's a long way for Tories to go if they're to get a significant breakthrough in Scotland.

But on this unscientific evidence from Aberdonians, perhaps voters are prepared to vote for the party that can establish itself as representing change, whatever else it offers.

Or - realising tough times are ahead - perhaps they'll back a party that will then do things they don't want.

That way, they get to blame it.