REGIONAL ASSEMBLY: WHEN five Cabinet Ministers and the Labour leader of the Welsh Assembly arrive in the North-East all at once, the public should be very suspicious.

Where have these people been when their Government should have been sorting out the problems of the North-East?

They are clearly rattled that their campaign for a North-East assembly has failed to gain popular support - worse for them, the more people hear about it the more support slips away.

The Government's proposal offers an assembly with no real powers except the power to raise money to fund more professional politicians. Your council tax will go up if there is a Yes vote, but the politicians will have little power to do anything but talk.

The No side has based all its arguments on what is contained in the draft bill. The Yes side talks in vague terms about their wild dreams and wish lists.

People should vote on what is actually on offer.

The Yes side say we are offering no alternative, but the question on the ballot is Yes or No, not Either/Or. Alternatives must come after a No vote has been secured. - Graham Robb, Spokesman for the No Campaign.

WITH luck, I will soon be re-united with my twin brother, his tour in the Gulf coming to an end, worries and fears over (until next time).

Unfortunately, on his return, he'll be met with politics of the gutter, self-seeking politicians, bullying, misleading the public; the use of a discredited voting system; ballot papers in the hands of folk who don't have a clue about the referendum.

We're told it's all about North Easterners, but the Government rolls in all these "outsiders" to tell me what to believe. Individual politics aside, politicians are, again, treating the people of the North-East as idiots, an easy touch, so easy we'll accept a clapped out Mini dressed as a Porsche.

I may not have the same politics as my local councillor, but I want them to be a few streets away, somewhere I can walk to. That is local democracy - removing many of them and having three assembly members to cover County Durham is not local democracy, it's closer to a dictatorship. - Jim Tague, Bishop Auckland Conservatives.

IT'S odd that the Senior Citizens Party opposes regional government because it would abolish the current district councils in County Durham.

Unfortunately, external inspections have shown that most of these councils do not provide the quality of services that they should, while the county council has been assessed as excellent - and provides many of the services that older people depend on.

My experience of Durham County Council is of an accessible and responsive local authority, and I'm confident that it could run all our local government services well.

It's difficult enough knowing who is responsible for what without two layers of local government.

I'm looking forward to regional government in the North-East, and to having regional politicians who make sure that unelected regional quangos like One NorthEast serve this region properly.

I hope that voters have the confidence and faith in our region to opt for regional government rather than regional quangodom, and that the forces of conservativism don't sway people from taking a step in the direction of saying that we can actually do some things in the North-East better than in London. - Tim Blackman, Durham.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

OVER the past few weeks you have published letters from supporters of the district councils in County Durham recommending your readers to vote for the three councils option in the current North-East referendum.

I would like to present a number of very clear reasons why your readers should consider voting for the one all-purpose council option - a new County Durham Council.

It would cost £25m a year less to run than three councils. For instance, why have three officers of every kind when you only need one? On the same basis, it's the only option which could provide lower council taxes and could afford to improve local services.

Durham County Council already provides 86 per cent of services to folk in the area and has an excellent track record, so adding the remaining services such as refuse collection would be simple and cost effective.

Finally, voting for a County Durham Council would preserve one of the most historic counties in the country as a thriving economic and cultural entity.

It makes more sense than lumping together areas as far apart as St John's Chapel and Trimdon in one council, or Horden and Ushaw Moor in another. Doesn't it? - Brian Walker, Durham County Hall.

A LEAFLET came through my door the other day purporting to be from my 'local' councillors urging me to vote for three unitary authorities in the second section of my referendum ballot paper.

It made me extremely angry.

Not only was there no imprint telling me who published and printed the leaflet but it was full of scaremongering designed to put fear into the minds of the people of Derwentside.

To imply, for example, that local refuse and recycling services will somehow be worse under a single unitary council than under three is just not borne out by any evidence. I'd be far more worried about the fate of a hugely complex service such as education in County Durham if the district-led option of three unitaries came about.

It is also astonishing that the people who wrote this leaflet can get away with a statement about council tax and how it is split between county and district councils without explaining that the county council delivers around 80 per cent of our services by value.

I hope people will see this scaremongering pack for what it really is - a desperate attempt by Derwentside councillors to hang on to their jobs. - Marian Simpson, Burnopfield.

THE debate about the future of local government in County Durham, perhaps understandably, concentrates on huge strategic issues.

However, many public services provided by Durham County Council are unsung and very rarely gain the public recognition they warrant.

This is certainly true of the Durham County Record Office. A modest service, both in size and budget, but yet immensely important to the proud history and identity of our county.

The Records Office is used by people of all ages and walks of life, from schoolchildren engaged in school projects through to older people engaged in family history and researching their own community. Then there is the priceless contribution the Record Office makes to serious academic research.

Should three unitaries result from the possible reorganisation of local government, this valuable service would be at risk.

I urge everyone to think very carefully before voting. The cost of breaking up Durham County will be borne by the ratepayers. - Jillian Gibson Stephenson, Crook.