A YEAR after North-East voters overwhelmingly rejected plans for an elected regional assembly, senior figures in the victorious No campaign marked the anniversary by turning their fire on the unelected North-East Assembly.

Despite the decisive result of the historic referendum on November 4 last year - in which 78 per cent of the electorate voted against John Prescott's plans for an elected body to run the region's affairs - the unelected North-East Assembly continues.

The body, made up of 72 appointed members, including representatives from the region's councils, was set up in 1999 and has an annual budget of about £2.5m, including £100,000 a year contributed by local councils.

Yesterday, a delegation from North-East No - one of the two main groups that campaigned against an elected assembly - demonstrated at the Assembly's headquarters in Newcastle's Guildhall and served what they said was a "Notice To Quit" on the organisation.

The notice described the continued existence of the assembly as "a political con trick" and "a tax burden on the taxpayers of Newcastle".

Campaign director Neil Herron described the assembly as: "an expensive, useless, toothless talking shop whose contempt for the people of the North-East is an arrogant affront to democracy.

"Assembly chairman Alex Watson and his aco- lytes should concentrate on what they were elected to do, not espouse and opine on North-East matters at our expense."

Councillor Watson, who is also leader of Derwentside District Council, said the assembly was doing excellent work in scrutinising regional development agency One NorthEast and overseeing planning issues through the Regional Spatial Strategy.

He said: "The assembly was put in place by central government and has a statutory responsibility and we are not in the business of abdicating our responsibilities."

Meanwhile, John Elliott - the Bishop Auckland businessman who led the official North-East Says No campaign - also criticised the continued existence of the assembly, saying voters had already rejected paying "higher taxes for a posh talking shop".

He said: "It beggars belief that one year later, our councils are using council taxes to support a regional assembly. How can this be seen as anything but arrogant contempt for the voters?"

However, Mr Elliott widened the argument to accuse the region's politicians of "failing to raise their game" in the 12 months since the referendum and said that the region was "sleepwalking in the wrong direction".

Mr Elliott said: "When we won last year's referendum, we challenged the region's politicians to raise their game. They have failed to do so and merely ignored the result.

"Too often, politicians have been dreaming and scheming instead of delivering tangible results.

"The region's MPs have continued to be disconnected from the aspirations of the people. For example, new buildings are a common theme of Government policy - educational academies and arts centres.

"Too often, monuments to political vanity have become more important than effective public services and a dynamic economy."