This autumn's referendum on a regional assembly has been dramatically postponed in Yorkshire.
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said only the North-East would now be going to the polls on November 4.
He postponed the referendums in Yorkshire and the Humber and in the North-West ostensibly because of concerns about the security of postal ballots.
There were many complaints about the conduct of the postal votes during the recent European elections in Yorkshire and the North West, and these are now subject to investigation. The voting in the North-East was relatively trouble-free.
The Northern Echo understands that private Labour polling in Yorkshire and the North West suggested that the idea of regional government would be quite heavily defeated, whereas the North-East views the idea more positively.
Full details of the power that any elected assembly might have are to be revealed this afternoon when the Government's draft Bill is published.
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