DURING 2004, the office of the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, floated a proposal that three areas of our country should be used as a sounding board in an attempt to establish if later regionalisation of the country as a whole would be acceptable to the populace.

There is no doubt in my mind this proposal originated in Brussels where unelected commissioners regularly decide policies for this and other countries.

Their idea appears to be that regional middle government should be administered directly from Brussels thereby, in time, effectively sidestepping and negating our nationally elected Parliament.

Own governmental European lackeys went along with the proposal and chose three areas in which they hoped to have most influence. These were: North East, which covers Tony Blair's constituency; North Yorkshire, which included Humberside, the constituency of John Prescott; North West, an area in which Jack Straw hopes to be able to continue his influence. The proposal fell flat on its face when the public rejected it out of hand.

It now appears that the government is attempting once again to do the will of its European masters and to introduce regionalisation through the back door.

I understand there is a move afoot to introduce a local area agreement'. This is being set up for the purpose of enabling a group of local authorities, in our case, Burnley and Pendle, Rossendale, Hyndburn and Lancashire to draw their required finance from the EEC and national government through the unelected organisation of the North West Development Association.

At present local authorities make representations for funds from national government. It will be noted that some of these adjoining authorities we are to be banded with are the same ones we were designated to amalgamate with had the earlier proposal not failed.

Another move in the direction of regionalisation via the back door is the proposed amalgamation of Lancashire police with Cumbria and probably Liverpool or Manchester. This is being done ostensibly to fight terrorism and major organised crime. Another reason given is the fact that police forces with fewer than 4,000 officers are uneconomical to operate. In 1969 Lancashire county police absorbed all the local borough forces and formed a force of some 5,500 men. Five years later this was deemed too big to manage and half the force was hived off to adjoining city forces. This left Lancashire with about 2,300 officers.

If the proposed amalgamation takes place it will be another step towards regionalisation. The city with whom we and Cumbria are amalgamated will take the pick and majority of available officers, leaving us with lesser trained and lesser qualified PCSOs and street wardens.

Finally, the health service is not absolved from impending regionalisation. It has been reported recently that an intensive care unit at either Blackburn or Burnley will close and services will be amalgamated within the remaining unit. Guess which one will go? Burnley. The new hospital at Blackburn will not lose a vital unit such as intensive care.

This might appear to be a relatively small step within the greater plan but I feel that once again it will prove to be part of an overall manipulation of local authorities to the probable reduction in local services.

Some people might consider that I am painting an unnecessarily black picture. All I can say in reply is, beware.

ANTONY HAWORTH, Pendleside Close, Sabden, Clitheroe.