What do Highland voters want from the General Election?

ITV News is gauging the opinions of people across the UK ahead of June's General Election to find out "What Matters" to them.

In this edition, we travelled to the Highlands of Scotland, a key battle ground for the Scottish National Party.

At the Highland Games at Gordon Castle, the boys of the Strathardle tug-of-war team were set on casting their vote for the SNP, attracted by the promise of another independence referendum.

"I'm just gearing up, vote another vote for SNP. Keep moving on for another referendum, that's basically my train of thought," said one member of the team.

Catching his breath next to him, his teammate saw "nothing wrong" with the way the SNP were governing. "If it's not broke, why fix it?"

Like the Strathardle boys, the SNP has dug in for independence but the party has downplayed the issues in this election campaign, relegating it to the margins in their manifesto launch, possibly sensing that for many the issue is too central to its politics.

One long-time SNP voter said the party had become too focused on independence at the expense of other policies.

"I was an SNP supporter for many years, but I think at the moment I'm more swaying towards voting Labour," she said.

And Brexit has added its own confusion to what is a complex brew.

Like the Strathardle boys, the SNP has dug in for independence Credit: ITV News

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon wants to keep close ties with Europe, but for many of her supporters - a third, by some estimates - that is the opposite of independence.

"Personally I don't think the SNP has my interests at heart in the Brexit process, so I might be considering voting elsewhere this year," said one self-confessed pro-Leave nationalist, admitting "I've got a lot of thinking to do".

The Highland Games is a celebration of Scottish identity, but despite the patriotic backdrop, there were plenty of floating voters among the spectators.

"I'm not really sure who I'm going to vote for," said one man.

"I think they're beginning to lose the plot, the whole lot of them."