AG百家乐在线官网

There is no runway on the Isle of Barra, the southernmost inhabited island in the Outer Hebrides.

I am travelling in a small propeller plane along with 10 other passengers and as the aircraft banks to the left it brings into view the most stunning putty-grey sands.

This is the only airport in the world where scheduled planes use a tidal beach as the runway - just one of the many ways remote island communities like this have improvised to stay connected to the mainland.

This is one of the most remote marginal constituencies in the United Kingdom and as people here prepare to go to the polls on 12 December they do so with issues like Brexit, Scottish Independence and the future of their island communities at the forefront of their minds.

The communities of the Outer Hebrides have shrunk over the decades.

The latest figures estimate a total population of 26,830, which, coupled with impacts on local industries - oil extraction, hunting, fishing, crofting - leaves the island economies fragile. Opportunities can be elusive.

And so people here want to know that an MP will fight their corner in Westminster.

Politically the seat has been a marginal between the SNP and Labour since the war.

In both 2005 and 2010 it was one of only a few seats where the Conservatives failed to retain their deposit.

During the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, the constituency voted against independence by a margin of 53.42% to 46.58%.

:: Listen to Sophy Ridge on Sunday on , , ,

The main town, Castlebay, is little more than a village. With a butcher, post office, cafe and a few houses huddled around the port, this is where the regular CalMac ferry services arrive.

And it is the ferry service that everyone is talking about on the day we arrive. Because it has been tied up in the harbour now for the past five days, unable to sail due to bad weather.

Brian Currie, a hotelier who made his money in the oil and gas industry, is furious.

"Welcome to Barra-Bados," he jokes when we meet on the harbour next to the ferry.

Several years ago the SNP government promised two new ferries for the Western Isles, to replace the current ageing vessels.

But the construction of them has suffered delays and the original build budget has doubled. No ferries, means no tourists, says Currie.

"These ferries have had their day and we've been hoping that these new ferries will materialise. Barra is the gateway to the Hebrides but people need to be able to get here.

"We're just a few days from a general election and I'm looking at the candidate who can show to me that they understand the importance of these ferries to island economy."

While tourism has grown in recent years the island still relies heavily on fishing.

On the harbour, they land their catch of langoustines in the morning and it is on dinner tables in Paris or Barcelona within 48 hours.

In the processing factory of the Barratlantic Fishing Company, around 25 workers shell scallops the size of golf balls.

This business relies on being able to sell its product outside of Scotland and so what happens after this election will be vital, according to managing director Donald Maclean.

He is worried that the SNP ultimate goal is to remain in the EU and seek Scottish Independence, which could lead to a trade border with England.

"I'm worried about the independence question," he said.

"Since Brexit it seems to be back with a vengeance and I'm worried it's going to be bad for business.

"I think we are better off being part of the Union. I don't want to see a border at Carlisle. We struggle to get our product off this island already with unpredictable ferries and bad weather. I don't need more obstacles put in my way."

But his general manager Christina MacNeil could not disagree more.

"I think we will be better off as an independent Scotland," she said.

"We will be in charge of our own destiny. The Europeans love our seafood and they will still love it regardless of Brexit and Independence. It's about having confidence in our own product."

To the north of Barra are the isles of Harris and Lewis, connected by two ferries and a series of man-made causeways.

The constituency is called Na h-Eileanan an lar and it has the smallest electorate of any seat in the country with just over 20,000 voters, only a third of the size of most constituencies.

It is home to the famous Harris Tweed, a fiercely protected fabric which is still painstakingly produced by individual weavers in their own homes, on looms unchanged for centuries.

Harris Tweed is shipped around the world and many producers are worried about the implications of Brexit to trade.

Alex Lockerby, the owner of Kenneth Mackenzie - the oldest Harris Tweed mill, keeps a close eye on what goes on in Holyrood and Westminster.

"I have just as much in common with businesses in Liverpool and Brussels as I do with companies in Glasgow," he said.

"Brexit and Independence are real threats to the business. I don't want to see anything that hinders trade.

"But I do want Brexit completed and I'm looking at the party that gives us the best chance to get that done and move on."

Chrissie Mackay is one of the workers at the mill. Her job is to spot flaws in the fabric and fix them and she is hoping politicians will do the same for her community.

"I have always voted SNP, but Brexit is the big issue we need to get done right now and so I am going to vote Conservative for the first time," she said.

"I'm worried about all the uncertainty and I'm looking to get some of that certainty back in my life and if that means voting in a completely different way to how I normally vote then that's fine."