A fisherman casts off in the river Spey.
Photographer: Matthew Lloyd/BloombergThe Fight Over Britain’s Future Is in Whisky Country
Fishing, hunting, Speyside malts, shortbread and a vote that could influence the fate of the United Kingdom.
It’s a damp Highland morning in Forres and the only sign of the U.K. election on the town’s main street is a shriveled yellow Scottish National Party balloon lying discarded in the rain.
Around the corner, Conservative candidate Douglas Ross, his Dalmatian dog and five activists in matching blue waterproof jackets are knocking on doors trying to persuade voters to shed their lingering inhibitions and elect him as their member of the U.K. Parliament. The district has been held by the pro-independence SNP for the past 30 years after his party was vilified for the demise of Scotland’s heavy industry and mass unemployment.