The minimum wage in the UK should be £18 an hour - because the cost of Freddo bars has rocketed since 1999.

That’s the economics theory that’s been put forward by one young man from Irvine who’s managed to ignite a debate on Twitter.

The theory - dubbed Freddonomics - came about after Arran Watt text his pal Courtney Bryden, declaring the minimum wage in Britain should be £18 an hour, and that he’d devised a sum to back his theory up.

READ MORE: Glasgow vandals hit out at the price of Cadbury's Freddo

When questioned on his sum, Arran told his pal: “In 1999, the minimum wage was £3.60/hr and a Freddo was 5p.

“This means you could buy 72 Freddos with one hour’s wage.

“Now minimum wage is 7.50/hr yet Freddos are 25p, meaning you can buy 30 Freddos with one hour’s wage.

READ MORE: Freddo price increase to 30p causes outrage

“For the continuum of Freddo purchasing, we need £18/hr MINIMUM.”

The brilliant text message exchange was then posted on Twitter by Courtney two days ago where it has, so far, gathered over 40,000 reactions, even sparking calls of “Arran for prime minister” and “Arran for president.”

Glasgow Times:

However, one chartered accountant chipped in to tell folk: “But compare the price of a TV in 1999 with today.”

“Yeah but a TV isn’t essential, Freddos are,” was the reply he received, which swiftly brought about the end of that argument.

One view we could definitely get behind was: “Freddos are a reasonable measure of economy. Never mind gold, we need Freddo-backed currency.”

What do you think about Arran’s views? Let us know in the comments below.