FORMER East Lancashire MP Lord Waddington has clashed with leading local Liberal Democrat Lord Greaves over regional government for the North West.
They were on opposite sides of the argument when the House of Lords discussed English devolution.
Former Home Secretary Lord Waddington, who has represented both Nelson and Colne and the Ribble Valley, said there was no real North West region.
He said: "The one thing of which I am absolutely sure is that people in England, who are already suffering from a surfeit of politicians and bureaucrats, do not want yet another tier of local government. But that almost certainly is what we shall get."
Lord Greaves, of Pendle, said: "I believe that the North West does exist and that within the region there is a strong sense of identity. The time has now come for an idea in which many of us have believed for a long time."
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