TONY Blair hailed the higher quality of life in the North-East yesterday as he threw his weight behind the region's £15m campaign to improve its image.

The Prime Minister spoke of a renewed "buzz and vigour" that pointed to success for the One NorthEast advertising drive, entitled 'Passionate People, Passionate Places'.

Mr Blair insisted there was a lot for North-Easterners to be passionate about in their region - including its culture, its public services, its football teams and, in Newcastle, its flagship city.

And he drew sharp contrast with London, where he admitted there was still much work to do to transform schools and hospitals.

When asked by The Northern Echo at his monthly Downing Street conference what made him passionate about the North-East, Mr Blair said: "It's the quality of life that people have.

"It really is a fantastic place to be, to work and to live. We have got, in Newcastle, one of the great cities in Europe today and we have got great culture in the North-East. There are also a lot of very good public services and a buzz and vigour about the North-East that has been remarkable in the last few years. There is a lot to be proud of - and there are some great football teams."

Earlier, Mr Blair accepted that scepticism over public services was partly to blame for Labour's General Election loss of seats in London last week. But he added: "You couldn't come to my constituency and say the schools and hospitals were worse - you would have to say they were better."

As a consequence, Mr Blair said, his majority went up in Sedgefield last Thursday - although his share of the vote fell.

The three-year One NorthEast campaign will feature in national newspapers, at airports, on taxis, on East Coast trains and in London Underground stations.

However, critics said a similar campaign, 'Here. Now', had been launched only three years ago.

The campaign was introduced to the south of the region yesterday at Locomotion: National Railway Museum, in Shildon, County Durham.

Museum manager George Muirhead said promoting the North-East was a great idea. He said: "I have worked in museums and visitor attractions in the North-East for over 20 years and believe passionately that the region has developed some formidable tourism assets."

Mr Muirhead was joined by the editor of The Northern Echo, Peter Barron, who pledged the paper's support.