SARAH VINE: Sturgeon's wrong but I do admire her 

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Everything Nicola Sturgeon says makes my blood boil. 

The hateful rhetoric about ‘locking the Tories out’; the way she seems intent on stirring up Scottish resentment towards the English.

And her determination to support a weak minority Labour government in exchange for greater concessions for Scotland at the expense of the taxpayer.

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Nicola Sturgeon is 'one of the most effective politicians this country has seen in a long while,' says Sarah Vine

And yet there is something about the woman that I find utterly compelling.

Because not only is Sturgeon one of the most effective politicians this country has seen in a long while, she is also precisely the sort of woman we need to see more of at Westminster.

She is not, of course, standing for a seat next week — but in some ways I wish she were. Sturgeon would cut through the pomp and sexism of the Commons like a dose of salts, in much the same way that another controversial lady with dodgy hair did four decades ago.

Because in spirit, if not in ideology, Sturgeon is remarkably similar to the woman she claims to despise the most: Margaret Thatcher.

Like Sturgeon, Thatcher was an outsider; a woman with no connections to the governing elite, drawn to politics through passion and long-held beliefs.

She had vision, courage and conviction — and an ability to cut through the niceties of over-educated, over-privileged opinion formers. She knew her mind and was not afraid to speak it — even in the face of ridicule.

But the similarities don’t stop there. There are even parallels in their personal lives. Thatcher’s husband, Denis, was often portrayed as a bit of a downtrodden drunk. In fact, he exerted a sobering influence on his wife, both politically and strategically.

Peter Murrell, Sturgeon’s husband, is also hugely involved in his wife’s career. Not only is he chief executive of the SNP, he is also widely credited for masterminding his wife’s recent — and very successful — makeover.

Despite that, he, too, is largely derided. His nickname is Penfold, after the meek sidekick of TV cartoon hero Dangermouse.

Sturgeon’s tactics, too, are reminiscent of the Thatcherite era. She gives the lie to almost every fashionable modern political theory: that you must only appear at carefully stage-managed events; that you must not stray off-message; that you must show a calm grasp of the facts rather than passion and emotion.

Unlike every mainstream senior politician on the campaign trail, she also has a genuine connection with the grass roots of her party, whom she treats with respect rather than a faint whiff of revulsion. You sense that she really gets the dreams and frustrations of ordinary people.

She also shares Mrs Thatcher’s legendary disregard for political etiquette. Maggie never quite mastered the Sir Humphrey-like nuances of a well-oiled, intellectually slick network of ex-public schoolboys. And neither can Sturgeon.

Not that she cares. She couldn’t give a stuff whose nose she puts out of joint: what matters is getting her message across.

And that, really, is the heart of the matter. They stand out as the kind of women who just roll up their sleeves and get on with it.

Sturgeon also illustrates one of the basic truths of successful women in politics: that for all the appeal of a Cameron Cutie, what voters really respect is someone who mirrors the qualities of the most important female figure in their lives: their mother. It’s no coincidence that the Germans call Chancellor Angela Merkel Mutti, or mummy.

Thatcher was the ultimate political matriarch. Sturgeon is more of a Nanny McPhee figure, the sort of unprepossessing woman who may lack initial appeal, but who ultimately turns out to be wise and canny.

Her policies may be swivel-eyed, but if the Tories had a woman with one-tenth of her talent, I for one would be breaking out the bunting on May 8.

Former Coronation Street actress Michelle Keegan 

If she's the world's sexiest... 

Former Coronation Street actress Michelle Keegan (right) is, there can be no doubt, a very pretty woman indeed. 

But you’d be hard pushed to call her the ‘sexiest woman in the world’, surely?

And yet, according to lads’ mag FHM, that is exactly what she is — ranking higher than model Kate Upton or actress Scarlett Johansson.

I’ll wager most women would consider either of those two sexier by far. 

Perhaps this explains it. 

Because often what women think of as sexy (smouldering Hollywood glamour) is not at all what men actually like.

If this poll is anything to go by, men just like a perkier, much glossier version of your average girl next door.

Wholesome, smiley and, above all, non-threatening.

According to new research, a glass of wine gives us an attractive glow. 

I find that two or three actually turns me into Elle Macpherson.

Here’s a very modern dilemma. I was having my nails done at our local beauty salon when a crimson-haired young girl in a black biker jacket, laser-cut micro mini and black tights walked in.

A few minutes later, she emerged from the waxing room minus the tights. Just one problem: because of the laser-cut pattern in her skirt, her entire bottom was visible through the fabric.

And I do mean her entire bottom, which was not inconsiderable.

Should I have said something? Or should I, as I did, have let her head off down the street, apparently oblivious to her predicament?

Lord Brand of Bonkers 

Turns out that self-styled revolutionary Russell Brand — a man who claims to loathe all politicians equally — is, like the majority of showbiz personalities who make a handsome living overcharging TV licence-payers for their services, a Labour supporter, granting Ed Miliband an audience at his £2 million flat (or ‘mansion’, as it will be known if Labour gets in).

No mystery as to why an endorsement from Brand (above), who has nine million Twitter followers, would boost Labour’s standing with the ‘yoof’. The only question remains is what he’ll get in return. Lord Brand of Hoxton?

In a world so bonkers that Red Ed could really be PM, don’t rule it out.

Russel Brand welcomed Labour leader Ed Miliband to his east London home for an interview on Monday night

I hate to break it to Kate, but if she thinks George is looking forward to his new sibling, she should think again.

Little usurpers are never entirely welcome in the nest.

I have a friend whose second baby arrived with a gift for his elder brother: a much coveted Tonka truck. It wasn’t long before his parents heard a deafening crash from outside.

They raced to find out what had happened . . . and there was the truck, smashed to smithereens, after falling — or was it pushed? — from a second-floor window.

Vets are the fat cats

According to a group of leading vets, owning a pet can expose humans to a number of serious diseases, from scabies to tuberculosis.

Luckily, there’s a solution: frequent expensive check-ups and vaccinations to ensure your furry friend isn’t harbouring anything nasty that you might catch. 

No wonder so many pet owners complain that vets these days seem to operate their own money-printing presses.

Unwanted male attention can be very intimidating, as poor Poppy Smart, 23, found when subjected to such a daily barrage of wolf whistles that she had to call the police.

It’s one of life’s ironies that by the time a woman is confident enough to see off a wolf whistler, she’s often too old to attract one.

This picture of Aldi employee Christian Touesdale, 18, helping an elderly customer with his shopping went viral

If only all 18-year-olds were like Christian Trouesdale, the Aldi employee whose picture helping an elderly customer home with his shopping went viral.

But isn’t there something a little sad about the fact that such a basic act of human kindness should cause such a sensation?

An expert in the science of ageing called Dr Alex Zhavoronkov has announced he’s planning to live to the age of 150.

To achieve this goal, he says, he will have to turn his back on getting married and having children.

Such things, he claims, cause irreversible ageing.

No doubt. But they’re also what make life worth living. 

I know Poldark actor Aidan Turner’s awfully handsome and everything, but does he really have to spend quite so much time with his hair in his eyes? I was getting heartily sick of it by Sunday night’s finale.

Perhaps he’ll get a decent haircut in prison. Or, at the very least, an elastic band.