Neil Hunter discivers what campaigners think about the latest developments with the assemblies.

John Elliott, chairman of North East Says No: "The draft Bill makes it clear to people in the region that the Government is only offering an expensive talking shop that will have no extra powers or money. A regional assembly will not create a single extra doctor, teacher, nurse or police officer, it will just create higher tax bills and more politicians."

Professor John Tomaney, chairman of Yes 4 The North East: "The publication of the Draft Bill is a great step forward. It gives us the clarity we need to be able to move forward and look forward to November 4 with confidence. All the uncertainties have more or less been removed and what has been announced takes us way beyond what was outlined earlier."

George Cowcher, chief executive of the North East Chamber of Commerce: "The Government has got to make the running on this and convince us that it is in our interests to have this assembly, but the jury is still out. The Draft Bill moves some way towards that, but the litmus test is whether the assembly will make a difference and allow us to do things we cannot already, and there is no clarity on that."

Councillor Ken Manton, leader of Durham County Council: "I'm delighted that voters in County Durham will get a chance in four months time to make an historic switch to one council providing them with top-notch services."

Councillor John Weighell, leader of North Yorkshire County Council: "The best course of action is for Mr Prescott to reassure the county's residents that the issue will not be brought back. Doing so will allow both the county council and the seven district councils within North Yorkshire to focus on doing what we do best - providing excellent services to the community."

Councillor Mike Gardner, leader of Harrogate Borough Council: "Over the past few weeks we all doubted whether it would actually go ahead because there was so little support for regional government. It has had some particularly bad Press recently from those who may have been expected to support the proposal. We are naturally pleased that it has been shelved and we await the results of the referendum in the North-East with interest."

Jane Thomas, director of Yes4Yorkshire: "The desire to see control move away from London and to the localities is now very real. This is an issue which will not go away, and until we have an elected assembly we will never properly be able to resolve the critical issues that face people who live here - jobs, transport, housing and health."

Diana Wallis, Liberal Democrat MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber: "The failure to hold a ballot this autumn, as promised, lets down the people of Yorkshire and the Humber, betraying their right to govern themselves. To play footloose and fancy-free with people's democratic rights does not leave me optimistic that the Prime Minister will fulfill his promise to hold a referendum on the EU Constitutional Treaty."

Neil Herron, North East Says No: "We have said right from the start that this is an absolute shambles, an ill-thought-out and ill-conceived project and we have had that well and truly endorsed by the statement in the House of Commons from Nick Raynsford, which would make Pinocchio blush. How can he say the North-East had no trouble with postal ballots when 28,000 did not have their votes counted and 600,000 papers went out late?"

Chris Haskins, chairman of Yes4Yorkshire: "I remain committed to the referendum process and to working towards an elected assembly for Yorkshire and the Humber. The delay should be seen as an opportunity to fine-tune what is on offer."