London Mayor Ken Livingstone has thrown his weight behind the campaign for a North-East Assembly. Writing exclusively in The Northern Echo, he explains why.

FOR too long in our country, decisions have been taken at a national level or by unelected bureaucrats, when they could have been taken more locally.

Even in London, where most of the civil servants are based, we had 16 wasted years when we had no London government after the Greater London Council was abolished.

Many major decisions were bungled by Whitehall.

Next month, the North-East will get a once-in-a-generation vote to decide on how this region of England is governed.

London got this chance just over four years ago, and I am glad we said Yes.

I was invited to visit Newcastle yesterday by the Yes campaign because it is important that the different regions of England learn from each other as central government begins to relax its control.

The truth is that there are some decisions that are better taken closer to home.

London's experience of devolution is that it brings real democratic pressure to bear on vital issues.

Without devolution, we could not have increased Metropolitan police numbers to their highest-ever level.

We could not have cut congestion in central London or turned around 20 years of decline on the buses.

We could not have introduced free bus travel for children or started work on a ban on polluting lorries and coaches.

We could not have introduced rules making half of new homes affordable, and we would not have been able to put together a bid to host the 2012 Olympics.

We would not have got the go-ahead to build a new Thames bridge or a new tube line for East London.

We could not have got agreement for a £10bn investment programme for our transport system using new borrowing powers.

The North-East will have its own priorities to set if there is a Yes vote next month. Devolution gives a region one voice that government has to listen to, and injects the views of local people into decisions that were previously made by civil servants or ministers based in Whitehall.

The mix of powers proposed for the North-East is different to those in London, with the North-East being offered some responsibilities that I would also like to have, while I am able to use some powers not currently available to the North-East.

My experience is that it is best to grab hold of what is offered and then argue for more.

Many people said the powers devolved to London were too weak. Four years on, I still make the case that as mayor I should have stronger powers. But no one would say that London government is not making a difference.

It will be in the interests of all the regions of England, including London, if central government loosens the reins and lets us take more of our decisions closer to home.

Some services are too big to be run by a local council, but too local to be left to Whitehall. Devolution to England's regions is the only way to square that circle.