A FORMER chart star from the Borders has announced that he will stand as a candidate in the Westminster elections next year.

Kilted musician Jesse Rae, from St Boswells, made the announcement following the result of the independence referendum.

His Scottish kitsch classic Over the Sea was a huge hit for him more than 20 years ago. He also penned the 1981 hit Inside Out for disco group Odyssey.

But now he is hoping to be back at the top of the charts - this time in the Scottish Borders electoral constituency of Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk.

On his Facebook page, he announced: “My agenda will be tae give the Scottish Borders independence inside the nation of Scotland.”