PEOPLE could make Lancashire County Council pay the ultimate price for closing 35 OAP care homes -- by voting to scrap it as early as next year.

Deputy prime minister John Prescott has confirmed that a referendum could be held in 2003 to decide if county councils should make way for one large regional assembly in the North West.

If the public vote yes, the county council could be consigned to the history book within two years.

Instead, the 35-member regional assembly would deal with issues such as highways and planning along with attracting inward investment.

Most of East Lancashire's borough councils would be forged together to become unitary authorities, dealing with education and social services on top of their current responsibilities.

But Coun David Whipp, leader of the Lib Dem group at Lancashire County Council, said: "We have to hope the referendum does not turn into a vote of retribution because I believe the regional assembly in this format would be bad for areas like Lancashire.

"We would be second place to urban areas like Liverpool or Manchester and with just 35 members."

Mr Prescott has announced that he has been bombarded with requests from the North West for the referendum to be held at the same time as one for the North East, which had been expected to pilot regionalised government in England.

It is the first time Mr Prescott has confirmed that North West voters will be allowed to have a referendum in the first wave of regional assemblies, which will now sweep south across the country.

The Queen's Speech on November 13 is expected to contain an Enabling Bill following on from the Regional Government White Paper "Your Region -- Your Choice" published in May.

For the thousands of people enraged by the council's decision to close 32 care homes it will be the chance to tell the county council what they think.

Its a decision which the North West Regional Authority, which operates as a non-elected pressure group, said it would not have made.

Coun Azhar Ali, chairman of the shadow Preston-based regional assembly and leader of Pendle Council, said: "We have our own regional identity and we are determined to be in the first wave alongside the North East. "We don't want to miss out on the inward investment that flows in when decisions are taken at regional level."

Leader of the North West Regional Assembly, Coun Derek Boden, said: "This is a good day for regional government and great day for the North West. We have a strong regional identity and I am sure that people in the region will want to look to the future and choose a more democratic and accountable way of running our own affairs."

Nobody from Lancashire county council was available to comment.