AFTER examining the offer on the table from John Prescott, the North-East has thrown it back in the Government's face.

Despite demanding a stronger voice for decades, the region has said a resounding "no" to a regional assembly.

We believe it is a missed opportunity and the Government must take much of the blame.

The Yes campaign simply wasn't given enough to campaign on. The proposed powers of the assembly were too vague, too flimsy, and too difficult to connect to the lives of the people of the North-East.

The argument that more meaningful powers would follow didn't wash. Jam tomorrow wasn't enticing enough for a region well used to having make do with an unfair slice of the cake.

It was the equivalent of asking an army to go into battle with pea-shooters, with the promise that they'd get tanks if they put up a good fight.

Faced with a simple but effective No campaign, which played on people's fears, the Yes-men were forced to become increasingly desperate.

There would not have been an expensive new building. There would not have been more politicians. But the seeds of doubt were expertly sown.

So which way now? The debate - for all its flaws and distractions, its white elephants and rats - has forced the Government to admit that the north-south divide exists.

The debate has also established common ground between the supporters and opponents of regional government: that the status quo is unacceptable.

A North-East regional assembly may have been dumped in the political dustbin, but the need for change is as urgent as ever.

The region must unite to find a new way to a fairer future.