The academics got it wrong as well...

...but when you check out their funding and connections it is all part of the great deception and political con trick. We had Professor Jefferey sussed last year. BBC are complicit in the deception. Thing is tho' the public are streets ahead of the game and the chances of anything other than the same landslide in a referendum on the European Constitution are nil.
More on that score shortly. Meanwhile...
Post below from Peter.

" A major academic study was published on 2nd July 2003 finding that all English regions could win a referendum on elected regional government. The study completed by Pro. Charlie Jeffery, Director of ERSC's Devolution and Constitutional Change programme anayses the reponses to the Government's soundings process conducted to assess the level of interest in holding referendums in the regions.Speaking on behalf of the Campaign for the English Regions Chair George Morran said that this news is a terrific boost for the Campaign. The report finds that the majority of people that intend to vote in the three northern referendums will vote Yes." ,,, and more.

I have quickly gone through Jeffery's report and find that it is not really as Morran would have it. Whilst it found that there was interest across the country in having referendums, it cautiously notes that this fact does not express voting intentions. Nevertheless of various polls mentioned all of them had more in favour than against elected assemblies.
But mostly less than 50% said they'd vote Yes.
Fewer said they'd vote no.
The rest were undecided.
Interestingly the BBC poll was the exception and had 73% in favour. The BBC needs to be hammered on this.Jeffery was not able to equate the ODPM's actions to the soundings. He seems to have sensed a reluctance to look too closely at them. He recognised that the Yes vote was vulnerable to "Talking Shop" etc arguments. He opined that the turn out was likely to be low.Undoubtedly Jeffery will have been disappointed in the NE result.
He is heavily wrapped up in euroconnections.One of the questions now is: will UNISON, Rowntree, Wainwright & Co continue to fund CFER? The LibDem regionalists are now talking of a Northern "Convention" to figure out the way forward.
Peter