We’re only a week in and face five more weeks of to-ing and fro-ing as politicians jostle for position ahead of the big day on July 4.

I suspect, like me, most folks take a passing interest early on, switch off for the majority of the bun fight and then tune back in for the final few days.

As I’ve said previously I tend to steer clear of politics, not least on this occasion because they’re all as bad as each other.

However, the Tories reaching back half a century to chuck the national service bombshell into the mix has certainly sparked plenty of interest and definitely got me thinking.

On the face of it this one will be popular with a large percentage of the electorate as we all know a good section of society believes 18-year-olds are lazy, good-for-nothings who need a good kick up the rear end to get them motivated.

It also plays right into the hands of the old school Conservatives who believe everything was better in the good old days.

However, there will be a large number of doubters who think the fact they’ve come up with such an ‘out there’ idea smacks of desperation and introducing another hard-line policy is just further proof they’ve lost the plot.

The proposed scheme, which would see all 18-year-olds volunteer in the local community or take a full-time role in the armed forces, has only been presented as an outline idea, with even the Tories admitting it will need a royal commission to work out the details and use Norway and Israel as examples to copy.

It’s not been made clear who might be exempt (although all genders will be expected to take part), what the punishment would be for not participating or how it would be funded – although a figure of £2.5bn a year has been mooted.

It’s not surprising the idea has seen critics from across the political spectrum dismissing it as a headline-grabbing gimmick, but it’s also received a very lukewarm reception from top military figures who fear it will be used as an excuse for reducing defence spending.

There are even some who’ve dismissed it as so ridiculous, even the Conservatives know it stands no chance of coming to fruition.

Only time will tell if the UK will successfully follow the example of other countries and make national service a reality and whether introducing it as a policy can have any impact on the result of the election.

But, whether it ends up showing the Tories are desperate or demonstrates they’re in touch with public opinion, the introduction of this one has already sparked more attention than previous elections.

I wonder what other brainwaves will emerge from left field as this battle to get to No 10 hots up?