Critics of a directly elected regional assembly have stepped up their campaign by outlining their arguments on a new website.
The website, set up by South Shields based Stan Smith, describes how such an assembly will not bring any extra funding to the North-East and will in fact make Government more remote with some smaller councils being abolished.
Mr Smith claims it will also cause conflict and jealousy between existing local councils, MPs and regional assembly members.
He said: "A regional assembly will be an expensive talking shop run by mediocre politicians which will cost the tax payer more than £25m a year."
Both sides in the debate have been cranking up their respective publicity campaigns ahead of an expected referendum in October.
Last month Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott visited the region to outline the case for an elected assembly to business leaders. *The website Say No 2 Regional Assembly is at www.smithq.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk
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