NICKNAMED “the wee county”, Clackmannanshire is the smallest council area in mainland Scotland in terms of population.

Just more than 51,400 people live within the local authority’s boundaries, with about half resident in the main town and administrative centre, Alloa. It is anticipated that the population will decrease slightly to 50,000 by 2037.

Bordering Stirling, Fife and Perth and Kinross, the region includes the Ochil Hills, which lie in the north and attract tourists and visitors for walking and enjoying the outdoors. Smaller towns and villages in the area include Dollar, Alva, Menstrie, Tillicoultry and Tullibody.

The main industries are agriculture, brewing, and formerly coal mining. The 200-year-old Maclay’s Brewery is a major employer in Alloa, as is the Alloa Glass Works. Three miles or so away from the town, Glenochil Prison is another major employer.

But given its beautiful setting and convenient location in mid Scotland, Clackmannanshire is also a popular dormitory region for people commuting to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Falkirk and Stirling.

Over the border in Fife, Kincardine power station, which once generated up to a third of Scotland’s electricity needs, was a major employer, and its closure had a painful effect on the area’s economy. Operations ceased in the late 1990s and the facility was demolished by 2001.

Alloa South and East are the most deprived wards, and across the area 26 per cent of children live in poverty.

On September 18 2014 Clackmannanshire became the first area to announce its result, with 16,350 people (46 per cent) voting in favour of independence and 19,036 (54 per cent) voting against.

Currently the administration is run by the SNP, who seized control earlier this year after Labour group wrangling over the budget. A no-confidence motion tabled by the SNP passed, with the pro-independence party then taking power.

As with other local authority areas in Scotland, the SNP is hoping to increase its presence as a result of dwindling support for Labour nationwide and a corresponding rise for the SNP.

The trend helped the SNP’s Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh defeat the sitting Labour MP Gordon Banks with a majority of 10,168 votes in May 2015, while a year later the SNP’s economy minister Keith Brown – a former leader of Clackmannanshire Council – held on to his seat of Clackmannanshire and Dunblane with 14,147, a performance slightly down on his 2011 result.

Councillor Archie Drummond was elected as an Independent councillor for Alva, Tillicoultry and Coalsnaughton in 2012, but last year switched to the SNP.

He believes that even people who do not support independence will give their support to the party because they do not want to see a Tory comeback.

He thinks come Thursday support for the Tories will be minimal in the area, possibly winning the party a single seat in the affluent town of Dollar, which is home to a leading independent school.

“I’ve been told by at least one voter, one a very fervent supporter of the Union, that they’ll give me their vote because of the Tory’s rape clause,” he said.

“In the Hillfoots here we’ve been electing SNP councillors for over 30 years, but the likes of Alloa, Tullibody are former mining communities which would traditionally have been solidly Labour, but they are now changing.”

Drummond said that while he detects some anxiety about Brexit and its impact on jobs, on the doorstep people mostly want to talk about local issues, sometimes along with the prospect of a second independence referendum.

“People are often more concerned about the state of their pavements and streets than they are about indyref2, though it does come up.” he said.

“Some older people perceive a problem with crime and anti-social behaviour, even though we live in one of the safest communities in Scotland. But certainly that is an issue they want to talk about.”

“I think the same issues come up in Clackmannanshire as anywhere else, access to local facilities such as parks and leisure centres.

"We have the same demographic problems as elsewhere with an ageing population and health and social care, and we have a lot of work to do in education.”

He added: “We were one of the first local authorities in Scotland to introduce a full-time teacher in every local authority nursery and we very much recognise the need for investment in early years.”

The Scottish Greens too are hoping for success in Clackmannanshire. The party is standing five candidates – one in every ward – and is confident of getting its first Green councillors in the town hall.

“I’m picking up a lot of interest and support on the doorstep,” said Bryan Quinn, a candidate standing in Alloa.

“People want more to be done on housing and renewables and like our message.”

He added: “I’ve met lots of Labour supporters who have voted for the party their whole life and are telling me they are going to vote for the Greens.

“A lot say they don’t like the SNP for various reasons, and find our principles and approach more in keeping with the ones they hold dear.”