LANCASHIRE County Council today pulled out of the North West Regional Assembly and demanded its subscription back after accusing it of breaking government guidelines.

A resolution calling for withdrawal from the unelected body was passed by ruling Labour councillors at today's meeting of the Cabinet.

County Council leader Hazel Harding attacked the motives of the Regional Assembly -- which is currently made up of local authorities who come together to campaign on regional issues.

She said it had been deliberately campaigning in favour of the referendum on elected regional government and for a yes vote in that referendum.

The government is considering changing local government to include directly elected regional assemblies which would replace county councils.

Lancashire County Council has opposed such a move and Coun Harding said today that her authority could not justify the £47,700 subscription to an organisation which was campaigning against the county council.

A report she presented said that legal advice had been sought and that the council's barrister, Eldred Tabachnik QC, believed that the county council had no choice but to pull out because the NWRA was campaigning rather than asking for opinions.

Attached to the report were press releases from the North West Regional Assembly's website which she said the cabinet believed was proof that the NWRA had been campaigning in favour of regional assembly.

Coun Harding said: "This decision has been made purely on the legal principle that public money should not be used for political campaigning."

All political groups on the county council voted in December to reject the government's proposals for a regional assembly.

Coun Harding added: "We need to know that public money is being spent correctly and we believe some of the NWRA's claims have been highly contestable in a way that could be deemed an attempt to build public support."