So that's what it was all about!

Assembly protesters to fight for devolution
Dec 8 2004
By Ross Smith, The Journal

The campaign which opposed an elected North-East assembly is to re-form next month - to fight for more devolution to the region.
Former members of North-East Says No, the official anti-assembly campaign, will launch a think-tank in the New Year exploring issues including the system of elected mayors.
They will also begin an opposition movement to the European Constitution, over which Prime Minister Tony Blair has pledged to hold a referendum.
But the move was slammed as "highly contradictory" by ex-leaders of the Yes lobby, which was trounced by 78pc to 22pc in last month's regional vote.
The new group, which is yet to be named, will once more be headed by businessmen John Elliott and Phillip Cummings, who acted as NESNO's chairman and treasurer, respectively.
And James Frayne, the research director at the London-based New Frontiers Foundation, whose role as NESNO's campaign director prompted a series of "southerner" jibes, will once more be involved.
Mr Elliott said: "The people of the North-East made the right decision rejecting the regional assembly.
"However, I think we all agree that we can't just carry on as we are and we have a great opportunity to generate a real debate on how we take the North-East forward.
"We need to develop alternatives which take powers away from politicians and civil servants in London, and which give local people and professionals real power over services that matter.
"The same principle means we should not be handing more powers over the economy and crime to Brussels in the EU Constitution."
Mr Frayne said the group will start to publish discussion papers and hold meetings in the spring.
But Ross Forbes, former campaign director for Yes4theNorthEast, scoffed: "I think what they're proposing is highly contradictory.
"They didn't have any alternatives during the referendum campaign and we certainly don't know what they have to offer now.
"With the region having decided the way it did, the one big idea has been knocked off the agenda. We don't think there's any easy answers. Knee-jerking into setting up think tanks is a little bit rash."
Neil Herron, former leader of the rival North-East No Campaign, said: "I would be in favour of anything which will help promote and benefit the North-East.
"But I think now we're seeing that the European Constitution was obviously part of their agenda when they set up."
Mr Herron said he will launch a "people's campaign" against the constitution in the New Year.

Northern Echo
Dec 8th 2004
'No' campaigners to launch devolution pressure group
by Tony Kearney
KEY figures from the campaign that delivered the No vote in the referendum on a directly-elected assembly for the North-East are to establish a pressure group demanding greater devolution for the region.
Buoyed by their overwhelming success in November's poll, in which almost 80 per cent of the electorate voted against the proposed assembly, leaders of the now-disbanded North East Says No are to set up their new organisation in the New Year.
Recruitment of members is expected to begin in January, starting with former supporters of the No campaign, then widening out to the business community and the professions.
Members of the as-yet-unnamed organisation say it will look at ways of transferring power from politicians and civil servants in London to people in the North-East.
The body would play a key campaigning role in the North-East in any future referendum on the European Union constitution.
Leaders of the organisation say they have no plans to field candidates in forthcoming elections or to staff a full-time office in the short term.
However, achieving such resounding success in a referendum in which almost half the electorate voted is likely to give it an influential voice in regional affairs.
Throughout the referendum, No supporters argued that the status quo had left the region's economy lagging behind the rest of the country
But they said the proposed assembly would be costly and have no real powers.
The new body is being established by John Elliott, a businessman from Bishop Auckland, County Durham, and campaign colleague Philip Cummings, with the backing of public relations expert Graham Robb and former campaign director James Frayne, all senior North East Says No figures.
They say it will publish discussion papers highlighting ways of bringing powers over policing, education and the economy back to the region.
One of the areas will be possibly increasing the role of directly-elected mayors.
Mr Elliott, who was the chairman of the no group, said: "I think we all agree that we can't just carry on as we are and we have a great opportunity to generate a real debate on how we take the North-East forward.
"We need to develop alternatives which take powers away from politicians and civil servants in London, and which give local people and professionals real power over services that matter."