We have the opposite problem in Quebec. We are in the middle of a provincial election. There has been the spectacular rise of the ADQ party from virtually nothing to a real challnge.

Its platform can be summariesed as - how the hell can we get rid of Montreal?

Fancy a swop London. We will throw in a nice city centre mountain and two feet of snow.

Hugh Phillips, Boucherville Quebec, Canada

Having lived in the South East, Scotland and London, I really think that London should declare its independence. Step outside the M25, and it is an entirely different world. In addition, everywhere outside of London hates Londoners. Can't be dealing with all the negativity all the time.

In response to some of the comments, according to the government's results from the 2001 census, the population on London is 7,172,091, not 12 to 14 million. By contributing 20% of the growth of the economy, I believe you could argue that London is punching above its, weight. Not having to pay for the rest of the UK, that money would definitely be doing more, upgrading the transport system.

Lisa, London,

"London has accounted for 20 per cent of the UK’s economic growth in the past decade"...

Responding to your headline statistic, Mr Harding, London has a metropolitan area population of between 12 and 14 million people. 20% hardly seems like a disproportionate contribution for a country with a population of 60 million, does it?

Mark, London,

Columnists should encourage us to think - and to think the unthinkable! However you view this article, it broadens your horizons. Well written, James!

A caution, though. The standard, establishment, response to an iconoclasm is to ridicule it as absurd, when what is truly absurd is our tame acceptance of limits on our capabilities; these do exist but should always be questioned and tested.

Call this the satire it is but don't dismiss it for that reason.

Noel Falconer, COUIZA, France

I wish London to have the same relationship with England as Singapore with Malaysia but with a wall around Central London so it can be properly insulated as Berlin was pre-1990 from contamination from West Germany.

It is a cherished dream for London to leave us alone and to enjoy its Civil Service and Quangoes all for itself. It would be so welcome to the nation that I urge all political parties to include it as a referendum question in the next General Election

TomTom, Leeds, England

There's one major, catastrophic flaw in your concept which would make an independent London uninhabitable.

It's called Ken Livingstone.

Anthony, London,

That's a good idea, City State. So we can cancel the new dam in Oxford, London will take care of it's own water problems.

doug, Montego Bay, Jamaica

London is a great city.I moved here from Exeter and it is so different to the rest of the country. However it is so great because not only does it embrace multiculturalism and 'alternative' lifestyles (unlike some other areas of the UK), but it is also the centre of power/sport/and everything else really. It has only got to its great position because of the regions not in spite of it. It will do well to remember this.

Tim, London, UK

To dwell on key issues. Does that mean Chelsea will be kicked out of the English Premier league? How much do you pay for water? I think your army looks quite weak......hmmm! When is this introduced. Can we speed it up?

Keith, Matlock, Derbys.

London is not big and rich because of inate wonderfulness. It's big and rich because it is the capital and seat of power. Everything else stems from that.

When Harding says 'London' he is not talking about the ordinary citizens, but huge corperations, rich international banks, top rank civil servants and the like.

Don't confuse London with Londoners.

Pete, Cardiff,

Why not go further? This London contribution is not, after all, a "London" contribution, but that of a minority of disproportionately high earners based in the City. Why doesn't this contingent secede from the raft of bartenders, checkout girls, minimum wage coffee-pourers, and the London unemployed Harding mentions?

The idea that "London" as a unified entitiy is somehow supporting the rest of the country is laughable.

This article exemplifies the irritating parallel between this London-centric attitude to the rest of England and America's trouble grasping the concept of the rest of the planet. Makes you want to knock on its forehead and remind it that, despite what it would like to think, it is not the only place in existence.

Hannah, LONDON, England

Brilliant peice Harding! Perhaps not someting that should go on the statute books, but does certainly focus minds on what London does for itself and the rest of this country. London is a gateway to the rest of Britain and as such should continue to feed & support the rest of Britain - however there needs to be a balance and greater investment; particularly as James says in transportation.

Mark, London,

London accounts for 20% of the growth in the UK ecomony in the last decade - they also account for 20% of the population - so it sounds like there pulling there weight! Well done!

Rob, Coventry,

I'll give him this, he can make a very subtle joke. This is a joke right?

Nick, London,

London does not have a 'unique and distinctive' identity. It is part of the wider country and heavily integrated with it.

Like myself , most Londoners have family in other parts of the country. I would not accept that my family who happen not to live in London are suddenly citizens of a different country.

Harding's motives seem to be entirely mercenary and would damage both London and Britain.

Peter, London, England

I have lived and worked in London all my adult life, love the place and cannot think of living elsewhere. I have also had the opportunity to work in New York. Whatever the relative financial positions of the two, I think New York has a slight edge. It is less expensive and the standard of service is better. Both the cities are well ahead of the times. They are a showcase of what the world will be in the not too distant future - a melting pot of various races and cultures, working and living together, broad minded and ambitious. I have noticed how an individual coming to London from the provinces or abroad, with their bigoted and racist views, have changed for the better within a year. I do not think London can ever become an Islamic republic, contrary to Julian of WIncombe's view, as the vast majority wouldn't allow that. It is the narrow-minded segregated towns and cities in Yorkshire that produced the 7/7 bombers.

Vinay Mehra, Purley, Surrey

What a good idea. Then they could shoulder the entire funding of the Olympic Games.

Tom Fallowfield, Braemar,

I'd love the South East to secede! I'm fed up with subsidising the regions, cancelling funding of the IRA in Northerm Ireland, and SNP in Scotland would only be the start!

We would however have to make sure we have the SouthEast rather than just London. Quite apart from my address (!) we should listen carefully to Julian, Wincombe:-

"If London became independant I'd give it 50 years before it becomes an islamic republic"

Mike Bibby, St Albans, England -not EU

James, can't resist a second bite.

If you knew a family whose members were anorexic to the point of needing life-support, but the head of the family was morbidly obeise, what conclusions would you draw? If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck...

London's self-obsession is legendary: the last place any country in its right mind would chose for its Capital - except,
perhaps, Liverpool -"City of Culture".

Ken Leyland, Liverpool, U.K.

This is really weak lazy journalism. How long did it take to come up with the concept for this piece? And how long has it been kicking around for? You can practically smell the boring editorial conference. Wake up, this is the Times for God's sake.

Gordon Post, London,

I'd be very pleased if London declared itself a republic, especially if its new government would give me a repatriation grant so I could get out of this overcrowded, overrated, overpriced dump and get back to the north!

Martin, London, reluctantly,

If London became indeendant I'd give it 50 years before it becomes an islamic republic

Julian, Wincombe,

Yes, but what about that tax that allegedly comes from London. BP may well have its HQ in London but the profits it makes are certainly not made there. Similarly Deageo and a host of other PLCs which, for the benefit of their boards, have their HQs in London while the real work is done elsewhere.

Steve German, Kirkcaldy, Fife

I have long felt that London should be a separate entity inside these Brutish Isles. Only when London is free of the rest of us will we see a view arising that is not capital-ised and incestuous; for years we have struggled with the economic impact of London's closer proximity to the world stage. Only recently, we saw the bonuses of the people in the 'City' and could not relate them to our own expectations; London as a city state could be charged with handing back all the artefacts that it has stolen from the rest of the country, under the guise of looking after such things; with London out of the equation, statisticians will not confuse financial norms experienced in the capital as being indicative of a general need; for years London has taken the hard work of others and played with it on the financial markets. When foreigners talk of Britain they refer to 'London' for in all fairness it is the only place in our country with the amenities to satisfy other than our parochial tastes.

Malcolm Turner, Alsager, England

There's a lot about London that I like, some things I don't, and I guess that would apply to most of the world's great cities. Reading the articles - one from an American living in London, the other from a Brit in New York - in Times 2 as objectively as possible, I felt that a better case was made out for New York. Regrettably I haven't yet had a chance to visit the Big Apple, but haven't giving up hope of doing so and deciding for myself which city is better - or whether we could call it a draw.

Barry, Wallington, UK

I'd rather Scotland was fully independent and London got to keep the £10bn or so that goes there. I don't mind supporting the north of England, but there's a limit to these things.

MickJ, London,

Where would the city states boundary be established? M25? home counties? the south east? Would it be possible to exclude Essex? Why can't we leave out anywhere north east of Liverpool Station?

Arnold Ward, Weybridge,

get wid of your notorious criminals,by all means,otherwise your republic is not for the people!!!

ewald widiner, shanghai, peoples republic

James, it has long been apparent to the rest of us that London is another country; that the rest of Britain might as well be in the hands of a foreign power. How else do you think it got into this stripped-out condition? The further you get from London, the poorer the population - until you get to the Irish Republic, the one place in the British Isles not governed by London.
It used to be said of the U.S. that it was the only country in history to go from the primitive to the decadent with nothing in between. Britain has gone from Super-state to tin-pot city state with nothing in between - another first.

Ken Leyland, Liverpool, U.K.

London got to where it is by being part of the UK and in particular the good regulations and the inheritance of empire. Under a leader like Joe Livingstone do you think such regulations as have allowed the city boom would have happened? Also, remember that the 'City' could have financed London transport etc years ago, but has always resisted the taxes. Also, the city is successful, the rest of London is unaffordable to Londoners and the degree of wealth inequality in London far exceeds anywhere except some especially benighted third world countries.

neil murphy, cromer,

Tim - have a look at your next shopping basket: Nothing any of us eat is locally sourced anymore. It would be great if it was, but your supper this evening has probably flown further in a day than you have in a lifetime.

And besides, when we are independent we'll probably keep Brighton as a colony, just for the odd weekend away...

Mikey, Streatham, LONDON

How much is the 2012 olympics costing again?! The only reason they make money and attract business is all public transport in the UK is focused there. Plus, it's a dump.

cameron, cheltenham, uk

I have long believed that Londoners are just as entitled to independence as (say) as the Scots or the Welsh. We have a unique and distinctive identity which is simply too different to the rest of the UK to be ignored.

We have long attracted the best and the brightest British, European Asian, and African talent and Kaiser Livingstone's tinpot regime just doesn't give us a fraction the autonomy we need to determine our own destiny.

Candidly, I'm sick of being told by chippy London-dwelling Scots and Northeners how terrible our city is & I think it would be a worthwhile experiment to see how they all get on without us.

Mikey, Streatham, LONDON

So, grow much food in London, do you?

Tim, Brighton, UK

What a remarkably good idea. (The sort of statistics quoted can always be used both ways). The rest of the United Kingdom would probably be glad to expel London from the Union (and probably the European Union as well?) on account of their capital city arrogance and for being parasites upon the real economic activity of Scotland, Cornwall, Wales, Northern Ireland and the remainder of England. After all, why should everyone else fund London's requirement for a major teaching hospital on every street corner?

Perhaps even the Scottish Nationalists would suspend their policy of independence given that it would no longer be necessary in the changed circumstances.

Apart from the obvious economic benefits to the rest of the UK, just imagine the benefits from the removal of the monolithic state control from London. Even the London (British?) Broadcasting Corporation might even consider life outside the M25 occasionally.

Brian Vallance, LEFKIMMI, Greece