AS the dust settles on the North-East's resounding rejection of a regional assembly, minds have begun to focus on where the region goes from here.

The debate has exposed a consensus that change is essential, even if it is not to be achieved through an elected assembly.

The Government must not take the view that the North-East has had its chance and blown it. That would be a serious mistake indeed.

The North-East didn't blow it - the Government blew it by taking the region for granted, giving the proposed assembly inadequate powers, and assuming a Yes vote was assured.

The No landslide should serve as a sharp warning that people do not trust politicians. It should not be seen as a signal that the region is content with a status quo that so blatantly discriminates against it.

The North-East contains some of Labour's most traditional heartlands, yet there has not been a Parliamentary debate about the region since 1999. Which of our 30 MPs is going to put that right?

The Barnett Formula, which pumps billions of pounds of additional grant aid into Scotland and Wales at the North-East's expense, has still not been reassessed.

But while the idea of an assembly has been kicked into touch, the debate has been a clear success because it has given fresh momentum to the campaign for change.

The Government should be very wary indeed of misjudging the region's mood a second time.