I AM pleased that senior politicians are talking about giving powers to the regions. This appears to have the support of the Liberal Democrat Leader, Nick Clegg, which I welcome.

I also agree with Lord Shipley, that we don’t want the North-East to be given more powers, only for it to be monopolised by one party.

Therefore it must be elected using Proportional Representation (PR). Whichever form of PR is proposed it must ensure that the electorate can vote for any preferred candidate.

I also believe that all the ballot papers must incorporate a small passport photo checkable against the candidate’s name.

I have a particular dislike for the Alternative Vote system used in the EU elections, where voters can only vote for a party on ballot papers that have more that one candidate.

Ben Ord, Liberal Democrat, Spennymoor