I AM sure most people are grateful to the voters in the North East who voted by 78 per cent to 22 per cent against having a Regional Assembly.

The result was so emphatic that even the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, who had been the leading advocate of elected regional governments, acknowledged that the people had spoken and the government would abide by the decision.

It is just a pity that Mr Prescott wasted £10million on his pipe dream.

There was never much support for another tier of government and the result in the North East has killed the argument for regional government stone dead.

Coun D PEARSON, St Michael's Court, Blackburn.