​PERHAPS more than any of the other English regions, the North-East has reason to understand the frustrations of the Scottish people.

Just as the Scots didn’t vote for a Conservative-led Government, the majority of people in the North-East – in Middlesbrough, Darlington, Durham, and Newcastle – are also governed by an administration they didn’t choose.

As a nation, we cherish democracy. We fight to protect it. And yet, sometimes, we find its outcomes unpalatable. That is how it is.

Like Scotland, the North-East often feels misunderstood and forgotten by Westminster. We too would like a greater say in the decisions which affect us.

And it is with that deeply-felt empathy in mind that we are calling on our Scottish neighbours to vote “no” in the independence referendum.

They can do so in the comfort of knowing that newly devolved powers are coming their way, but without the huge economic risk of separation.

We hope the Union is maintained because, at a time when separatist movements around the world are threatening global stability, we simply believe we are better off sticking together and building on the connections and understanding we have shared for generations.

A vote for independence will not only leave Scotland and what’s left of the United Kingdom weakened, but it is not an exaggeration to say it will send a ripple effect across Europe and beyond that will stir up political turmoil in the likes of the Baltic states.

Scotland has made itself heard. It has exposed the inadequacies in the leadership and governance of the UK. It has made its point and forced the main party leaders to regret their complacency in their last-minute rush to salvage the wreckage.

But Scotland does not need to break up the United Kingdom.