DEPUTY Prime Minister John Prescott signs off his regional assembly campaign today with a plea for people to vote before Thursday's 10pm deadline.

Speaking last night, he said: "I've never been confident because you can't predict the result. I know it's neck-and-neck, but what is certain is that every vote does count and those who haven't should get out and vote.

"It's like in America, where people are seeing that their vote might be counting and are thinking 'oh blimey, I don't want to abstain, I want to vote'."

Sounding tired after weeks of campaigning for an idea that he has championed for more than 20 years, Mr Prescott continued his US analogy. He said: "As Bill Clinton said last week, vote for the ones offering hope and change.

"If you really believe that you are satisfied that the North-East is getting a fair shake, then keep the status quo - and you will continue the same, trailing behind.

"But if you want something to change, we are advocating a regional assembly. It has worked for Scotland, it has worked for Wales and it is working for London, so I don't see any reason why it shouldn't work for the North-East."

He admitted that the Yes campaign had been a hard sell. He said: "It is much more difficult to get a positive message across.

"These are real and substantial changes, but when you deal with strategic things, it is not the same as day-to-day things like your local rubbish collection."

He tried to puncture the No campaign's inflatable white elephant -which was at the Angel of the North yesterday summing up the opposing view of an elected assembly - by saying that there would be fewer politicians, fewer councils and less expense.

He said: "If they say it's going to be a white elephant because it won't make any decisions then, frankly, the decisions currently made by quangos must be made by civil service white elephants, I suppose. We just want those decisions to be made by directly elected local people."

Mr Prescott's plea for people to vote brought rare unanimity to the campaign.

John Elliott, chairman of North-East Says No, said: "We are confident that we will win, but we want as many people as possible to vote No over the next couple of days to make sure.

"The rest is last-minute desperation from Mr Prescott. He can come up with all the soundbites he wants to claiming that this means more power for the North-East, but the white elephant has rightly become the icon of this campaign as it accurately symbolises what's being offered."