A PETITION demanding that the North of England, starting at Chester, breaks away from Southern England to join Scotland has had thousands of signatures.

The unusual petition, which demands that a line from Chester to Sheffield should be drawn and the North of England should break away to form a separate independent country, has already had more than 12,000 signatures on the change.org website.

The new nation of “New Scotland” would then see Chester and other northern cities ruled from Edinburgh instead of Westminster.

The petition, which was started by Stu Dent in Sheffield, reads: “The deliberations in Westminster are becoming increasingly irrelevant to the North of England. The northern cities feel far greater affinity with their Scottish counterparts such as Glasgow and Edinburgh than with the ideologies of the London-centric south.

“The needs and challenges of the North cannot be understood by the endless parade of old Etonions lining the frontbenches of the House of Commons.

“The North of England should join the newly-independent Scotland and regain control over its own destiny. We, the people of the North, demand that in the event that Scotland becomes independent the border between England and the New Scotland be drawn along a line that runs between the River Dee and the mouth of The Humber.

“#TakeUsWithYouScotland.”

The petition seems to have been started a year ago – around the time of the Scottish independence referendum – but has only gained popular support in the week after the Conservative Party won a slim majority in the House of Commons.

The plans are very unlikely to be put into place however.

If you want to view the petition then please visit www.change.org/p/the-uk-government-allow-the-north-of-england-to-secede-from-the-uk-and-join-scotland