Paul Merton? Well, he has the right initials, couldn't do much worse and, at least, we'd die laughing. Or with a wry smile on our faces.
Well no-one has objected to a Wessex Republic, so I'll assume its all systems go. Assuming we just stick to Hardy's 'romantic' Wessex we'll boast 2 international airports, a major deep water port, diverse and productive agriculture, good transport links to mainland Europe and our own oil. If we adopt the Wessex boundary of Alfred, post conversion of Guthram. Then we would gain 2 more airports and more deep water port facilities. We would also have a direct land border with Wales. You can keep the protectorate of Sussex, Essex and Kent. Seems fair. It would also mean my blue bare arse could be painted using domestically manufactured Farrow & Ball paint.