What region of the United Kingdom has a larger population than 11 member states of the European Union, and larger than that of Scotland and Wales combined?

(Clue: the eleven countries include Finland, Ireland and Cyprus.) Answer - where we are, the North West of England.

For your bonus question you may like to know that the economy of the North West is the same size as that of the whole of Denmark.

So where's this leading? It is to argue that an elected assembly for the North West of England makes a lot of sense.

We will all get a vote on this in a referendum in the autumn. Whether it happens or not will therefore be a matter for the people of the North West, not for decision by Ministers.

I'll be voting 'yes' in this referendum.

Why?

First, I have long thought that the North West needs and deserves a stronger voice than it has at the moment. Indeed, I'm pleased to say that the approach now being implemented is one I helped develop a dozen years ago, when I was in charge of Labour's policy on local and regional government.

In the intervening years my view has strengthened.

In 1997 the people of Scotland and Wales were asked whether they wanted a Parliament and Assembly to run Scottish and Welsh affairs. The result in Scotland was a resounding "yes", and in Wales "yes" by a small margin. But these institutions, and their executives and cabinets, are now well established and seem to be working well. Far from them undermining the cohesion of the United Kingdom, they have strengthened it.

But having these bodies north and west of the English borders has also raised important questions about how we run government at a regional level in England.

There is regional government today in the North West. But it is controlled either by indirectly elected, or non-elected people. I think it would be better if were elected.

Under the proposals there would be 25-35 Assembly members elected on what's called the "additional Member" system, "leader and cabinet of up to six members".

The current scheme is that the Assembly would be responsible for business and jobs; skills and training; housing; planning; transport; fire and rescue; public health promotion; culture, tourism and sport; and the environment.

In each of these areas, quangos working on North West-based issues would report to the Assembly rather than to London, thus making the process more immediately accountable and giving greater flexibility should decisions need to be revisited as their effects become clear.

The Assembly would get a grant of £780million from central government, it would also have influence over another £1.6billion that is spent by partner organisations and quangos whose work it will oversee. This would bring the total to nearly £2.4billion.

There will be consequences for local government. In East Lancashire - as readers of the Lancashire Evening Telegraph will be aware - the "two-tier" system of local government outside the unitary area of Blackburn with Darwen would be replaced by larger single tier authorities. The exact boundaries are an important matter of public debate, but overall I'm clear that having local issues better controlled locally, and wider regional issues subject to elected representatives, is the way forward.