Regional Dis-Assembly

It was John Prescott's dream five years ago.

And for several months it took over my life. More intense than any General Election I have covered in my career as a journalist.

Yet 2004's North East regional assembly referendum will remain an embarrassing footnote in New Labour's history. One they would rather forget.

The campaign itself was like a bad trip - inflatable white elephants and Gazza talking politics.

But as a journalist, I have to admit it was tremendous fun.

Most people - including the aforementioned Mr Prescott - started off assuming the Yes campaign were favourites to win.

All the polls in the run-up to the campaign put the Yes camp clearly ahead.

It was thought our region was the one guaranteed to embrace the idea. Others would then follow.

But it quickly turned into a disaster.

How and why the idea failed

The No Campaign's literal characterisation of the assembly as a White Elephant captured the public imagination.

The Yes campaign got increasingly desperate - hence the use of Gazza.

In the eventual vote almost eight out of ten people voted no.

Why then did it fail so spectacularly?

To start with what was on offer was a pale imitation of the devolution offered to Scotland and Wales.

There were no powers on offer over education, health, transport or law and order, and no ability to raise funds.

It was hard to sell, but easy to denigrate.

And the No Campaign did that exceptionally well.

They caught the anti-politician mood, portraying the Assembly as a talking shop which would cost voters money and deliver little in return.

And they could portray themselves as anti-establishment while the Yes Campaign was weighed down with the baggage of being backed by the Labour party and of course the government of the day.

A 'Geordie Parliament'

The Yes campaign's appeal to regional pride just wouldn't wash.

The North East might have had some antipathy to being ruled by politicians in London, but the people of Teesside also had no desire to be ruled by what some people characterised as a Geordie Parliament.

And then there was timing.

"But perhaps we should all have read the runes a little better. The Welsh only voted for their Assembly by the narrowest of margins."

The campaign for an assembly thrived while the Tories were in power and the economy struggled.

In 2004, Labour were in office and the economy was in rude health with unemployment at its lowest for years.

But perhaps we should all have read the runes a little better.

The Welsh only voted for their Assembly by the narrowest of margins.

So perhaps it was always going to be a struggle to persuade a region which had less of a coherent identity to vote for something far less powerful.

Could the campaign ever be revived?

It is hard to see how in the immediate future.

"It's not inconceivable that campaigners could again raise the possibility of some form of regional independence."

But let's imagine we are in 2020. The Cameron administration is in its third term, and has still failed to win over the people of the North East.

It is not inconceivable that campaigners could again raise the possibility of some form of regional independence.

The hitch - it would need the Conservatives to pass the legislation needed.

I suspect John Prescott's dream is still a distant one.

Take the White Elephant quiz

How much do you remember about the referendum on a Regional Assembly for the North East?

Take our quiz and test your memory.

Find out if your score is a triumph of mammoth proportions or a beastly embarrassment...

White Elephant quiz

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
BBC Wear
BBC Tyne
BBC Tees
BBC York & North Yorkshire
BBC Cumbria
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites