Today's Letters

Northern Echo
28th September

REGIONAL ASSEMBLY
THE poll of business leaders about the regional assembly is a wearingly disappointing viewpoint.
The need for an assembly to have input into the commercial life of the region is obvious.

The present Regional Assembly has business leaders represented as well as health, voluntary and trade union sectors. It is to the good of everyone in business in the North-East to have a real say in the running of OneNorth East, in the places where roads and railways will be built and in the skill base needed to provide labour for the industry of the 21st century.

It is the role of business to encourage the growth of new companies and to help in attracting new work into the area. If there is a distrust of politicians by business, the way to resolve this is not by bad mouthing genuine attempts to make the region stronger and more democratically accountable, but to participate in this assembly where the proportional voting system could guarantee seats for business interests.

The business community has been wrongly portrayed by some of the No campaign as being self interested and insular. The real experience of politicians like myself is that where there is a meeting of minds and will between the political world and that of business only good comes from it.

The success of Nissan is a clear example. Who will speak for the North-East when the aircraft carrier contract is being negotiated?

There is a place for commerce at the heart of the region and when the region says Yes I hope that our great business people will come forward to serve with the others from the heart of the region.

The sneerers ought not to win this battle, let positive people do the work required.
Coun Colin Anderson, Sunderland.

Councillor Colin Anderson is disappointed at the viewpoint of business in delivering a resounding 'No' to an Assembly.
Disappointed perhaps because it looks like the gravy train which he wished to climb aboard is coming off the rails.
He mentions the current (unelected) Assembly. This is the same Colin Anderson, Sunderland Councillor, who was provided with full details of the misuse of public money by that very North East Assembly in promoting elected regional government, but did nothing. It was left to members of the public to secure censure from the District Auditor.
Then Mr. Anderson states, " the real experience of politicians like myself is that where there is a meeting of minds and will between the political world and that of business only good comes of it."
Your readers will be somewhat staggered to know that this is the same Colin Anderson, who embarked on the prosecution of the late Metric Martyr, Steve Thoburn. Mr. Anderson did more damage to the city of Sunderland and the relationship between politicians and business than perhaps any other politician in recent history. The first authority to prosecute a greengrocer for selling a pound of bananas.
No Mr. Anderson, you and your ilk are so far out of touch with the people and business that you can see no further than endorsing another institution created for the furtherance of political careers.
The naysayers, as you call those who amongst other things do not wish to see their council taxes rise, have seen through your insulting and insincere comments about the real wealth creators in the region.
The No Campaign are positive.Positive that the people of the region will not fall for this monument to the hubris and arrogance of the North East's political mafia.
Oh, and Mr. Anderson, please explain this 'proportional representation' misnomer when the ODPM's own website states that the majority elected will be first past the post.

IF ever there was a reason for voting No to a regional assembly it is the recent case of the Wear Valley councillor who resides in the Dominican Republic, but who continues to pick up his allowance.

The same people who run things locally now will no doubt put their names forward for the assembly. Once they are elected, as many will be, they will vote themselves a hefty increase in their allowances with little or no thought for the poor tax payer.

There will be, as now, little or no policing of the claims they make or the amount of such payments. What was once a service to the public has, I am afraid, become a massive self rewarding gravy train.
D Colton, Yarm.

THE Government has made misleading statements in its 'Have Your Say' delivered to every household in the North-East prior to the referendum on a regional assembly.

In particular, it says that there will be around 25 elected members - "they would be elected as in Scotland, Wales and London, by a system of proportional representation to help prevent domination by a single party and to help ensure a balance of opinion".

Sounds fine, but an examination of the actual Bill shows that the picture is very different. There will in fact be 'constituency members' and 'regional members' and all the constituency members will be elected on the 'first past the post' system, by simple majority. 'The constituency members will make up the majority'. In other words the same old party domination will be very evident.

If any independent does try to stand for election, he or she is going to have an uphill struggle unless he or she is very wealthy. How, for example, could an individual canvas or leaflet 1.9 million voters and have any hope of being elected as a regional representative under PR?
So much for the Government's 'information' campaign.
Mrs D Thompson,
North-East 'No' Campaign,
Burnhope.