"Clearly the rest of the UK cares very little indeed for the area.

"For which reason, I call on my neighbours to cast off the shackles of slavery and join my own native country."

Mendelssohn said Americanisation would involve multiple benefits... including the right to buy firearms.

He added: "They will be able to drive on the right, as God intended, in cars full of gasoline (petrol) for which they have paid only $4.20/gallon.

"And countless hundreds of thousands of person-hours will be saved each year by spelling words such as color and neighbor in the more streamlined American way, rather than with an extraneous u that isn't pronounced anyway."

Mendelssohn even goes as far as suggesting the US might be willing to swap one of its "less notable former British colony states, such as Delaware" for Thanet.

He said: "If such a deal is struck, the USA won't have to change the flag it's been waving since 1959, when Alaska and Hawaii brought the state count to a nice even 50."

What do you think? A great tongue-in-cheek idea, or a load of baloney? Add your comments below.