Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott announced this afternoon that three northern regions will be allowed to vote on the formation of regional assemblies.
Referendums will be held in the North East, Yorkshire and Humberside, and the North West, probably in autumn 2004.
A decision to press ahead with preparations for regional assemblies came after a consultation exercise found the greatest support for such an idea in the North.
If the regions vote "yes", Mr Prescott said the first English regional assemblies could be up and running early in the next Parliament.
This would mean both the North-East and Yorkshire will be part-governed by influential new bodies with powers over transport, housing, job creation, regeneration, waste management and tourism. They will be funded by a levy on council tax.
The Government agreed earlier this year that voters in county council areas would be given the choice to keep their counties in the local government shake-up that would precede the setting up of an assembly.
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