...and his face looks well slapped!

It's a slap in the face for Prescott
Nov 5 2004
By Evening Gazette

The rejection of the Government's elected assembly proposals is a personal blow for Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott who enthusiastically championed the cause.
The North-east result could derail the Government plans to offer other English regions the chance to vote on regional assemblies.

At a 2am press conference in Sunderland today, Mr Prescott was joined by Nick Raynsford, the Minister for Local and Regional Government. Mr Prescott made clear he believed an elected regional assembly was in the best interests of the region.

He pledged: "We will maintain a strong regional presence and continue to strengthen the regional dimension including the regional development agency, the existing assembly, and the strong regional Government Office.
"We will continue to devolve power to our regions and localities wherever we can. We will work with the voluntary regional assembly, with One NorthEast development agency, and through the Government office. They serve the region well and will continue to do so."
Many of the region's MPs were stunned at the result with some believing it means North East devolution is now dead for a decade ­ and probably far longer. Though Labour MPs campaigning for a regional assembly had already reconciled themselves to a No verdict, none had expected such a tidal wave of opposition.

Among those deeply disappointed was Stockton South's Labour Member Dari Taylor, responsible for Labour's regional election campaigning. She confessed: "I'm absolutely gobsmacked!
"I'd realised we were going to lose the referendum but never on this scale."
Also stunned was Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP Ashok Kumar who had braced himself for a narrow defeat.
"This is dead for a generation," he conceded.

Redcar MP Vera Baird said: "I'm very surprised. The purpose of devolution had been to regenerate the North-east. But that is still our job and we must get on with it."
Stockton North MP Frank Cook blamed the result largely on the No campaign which he believed had misled voters.

But Middlesbrough MP Sir Stuart Bell said he believed people voted No because they did not take them seriously, and that if North-east devolution was ever to work it would mean giving far more money and power to a regional assembly than that proposed.