Petition calls for Scotland to be thrown out of UK

An online petition calling for English voters to decide on whether Scotland should be kicked out of the Union has attracted more than 5,000 signatures.

A voter outside a polling station in Fankerton, near Denny, on the day of the referendum on Scottish independence in 2014. Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

It demands MPs at Westminster should debate what benefits Scotland “brings both financially and socially and whether we should begin the process of their removal from it”.

The petition said a referendum on the matter should be held as soon as possible.

It states: “There has been no debate as to what England’s benefit is from this (sic), nor what passing all these suggested powers would entail.

“In short, despite being part of the union the ramification of Scotland remaining in has not been explained or explored for English people. It is therefore vital that we open a debate where we understand the benefits of this Union to the everyday person and why we should want it to continue.”

The poll neglected to mention whether voters in Wales and Northern Ireland would be consulted on the process.

The petition was widely mocked on social media, with sarcastic messages shared under a #ThrowScotlandOut hashtag.

One Twitter user asked: “Does this mean England will stop trying to claim Andy Murray?”

Others wondered if residents south of the border would be willing to house the Trident nuclear submarines currently based on the Firth of Clyde.