Clash of the Independents...Respect not Rants

Pro and anti-assembly camps meet
REGIONAL assembly champion Ray Mallon yesterday went head-to-head with one of its most vocal opponents.
The Middlesbrough mayor met North-East No campaign leader Neil Herron outside Sunderland railway station.

He said: "I have been an admirer of Neil for some time. He speaks in a language the public understand and has earned their trust."

The pair appeared to agree that the North-East deserves a better deal and that any regional assembly would need to attract the right calibre of politician.

Mr Mallon said: "The difference between us is that I believe we can get the right people to step forward, where Neil does not.
"What was very refreshing was that today we had a grown-up discussion about how the North-East can move forward -it is just a shame the official No group is not prepared to act in a similar way to Mr Herron."

Mr Herron said: "We do agree on some things, but Ray Mallon is like a car salesman asking us to fall in love with a car without reading the fine print of the finance agreement.
"We have read the fine print and think this car is a banger."

Mr Mallon joined Yes4the North-East chairman Professor John Tomaney on a train trip from Middlesbrough to Sunderland, taking in Hartlepool.

Prof Tomaney said: "Transport is clearly an area where a regional approach is the best for the future of the North-East."

John Elliott, the chairman of North-East Says No, said: "A regional assembly would simply not have the powers over transport claimed by the Yes campaign."
Mr Mallon continues his tour of the region today with a visit to a Middlesbrough mosque to talk to Muslim leaders.