ONE of the odd things about politics and government is that you can help start things and then years later, after you've moved on, they pop back.

Ten years ago I was Labour's Shadow Environment and Local Government spokesman in Opposition.

I desperately wanted Blackburn with Darwen to become a unitary council and run its own services like schools and social services.

We got that and it has been a tremendous success. Only last year, the council was voted the joint best in the country, and deservedly so.

And on Saturday, in a further acknowledgement of the esteem in which our local authority is held, my good friend Bill Taylor, the council's leader, was granted a knighthood.

Alongside those changes a decade ago, I also thought there was a case for having an elected regional assembly for the North West and other regions -- but only if people wanted them.

* Building on work done by John Prescott I therefore published a document in 1995 which proposed holding referenda in those regions where there was a strong demand for such assemblies.

It was with great satisfaction then that on Monday John announced that just such a referendum on whether or not to have a regional assembly will be held across the North West -- along with the North East and Yorkshire and Humber -- probably next year.

This is good news because it will give people here in East Lancashire and across the region the chance to decide whether they believe a regional assembly is right for us.

Of course, the last thing anyone wants is an extra tier of needless bureaucracy, which is why I welcome John's announcement that a move towards a regional assembly can only be accompanied by changes to streamline local government at the same time.

In any event, a democratic North West regional assembly will take over many of the planning, transport and economic development already carried out by existing unelected bodies.

* I strongly believe that decisions about people's lives should be made as close to those affected as possible. These proposals -- alongside many other parts of this Government's radical constitutional changes -- afford just such an opportunity for people across the North West.

Yet the crucial test for me will be whether an assembly will help to bring more jobs and more prosperity to East Lancashire and across the North West.

For decades, the South East of England has attracted the largest share of investment within the UK, and other regions, particularly those in the North, have lost out.

* The Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly have rightly given the people of Scotland and Wales a powerful new voice, and the Mayor of London has helped transform arrangements for our capital city. Perhaps, then, it is time for the North West's voice to be properly heard too.

But my vote will be only one of the seven million in the North West, and the 75,000 electors in Blackburn. I would be interested to hear what you think.