THE North-East will not have to accept a London-style mayor to get greater powers over its own future, the Prime Minister said today.

Under pressure from council leaders to grant greater devolution to the English regions, David Cameron said his Government had given more money and powers to cities and Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) through City Deals and Local Growth Deals but he was “very open to more suggestions about what more can be done”.

During a visit to Cramlington, Northumberland, Mr Cameron said firmly the North-East would not have to agree to a single mayor, as exists in London and is planned for Greater Manchester, to win more say over its own affairs, insisting: “We can do different things in different ways in different parts of the country.

“The question is always: is there a good system of accountability in order to make sure that when money and power are devolved, they’re properly exercised.

“We’re very happy to listen to more ideas for what more can be done.”

The Conservative leader said he did not support the creation of new regional assemblies, such as that rejected by the North-East in a 2004 referendum, because he did not want “lots more politicians and all the rest of it”.

“I think giving power through these City Deals and Growth Deals is the right answer,” he said.

There has been growing unrest in the English regions over the promises made to woo Scots away from backing independence.

Here, the controversial Barnett formula means the government spends £733 per year more on each person in Scotland than in the much poorer North-East. However, last week Mr Cameron again ruled out changing the setup, which dates from the 1970s.

Here in the North-East, there is anger that Scotland will be allowed to set its own airport duty, with claims our region’s airports such as Newcastle and Durham Tees Valley will suffer, with the loss of around 1,000 jobs.

Labour has promised £30bn of devolution to the English regions and a Senate of the Regions to replace the House of Lords.

Mr Cameron has backed “English votes for English laws” within the existing parliamentary setup.

The Prime Minister was in the North-East to announce a £15bn road-building programme which includes £290m for the North-East, including dualling the A1 north of Newcastle to Ellingham, 25 miles south of the Scottish border.