THE great Bill Shankly was a manager to rival any other. He transformed Liverpool from also rans to a club that dominated Europe for years.

But if Bill really did describe football as "more serious than life or death" then he was wrong.

For most people football is a game, for those involved in it, it is a profession, but it is not a matter of life and death. When issues expand to the point that they dominate every day of your life then it is easy to lose a sense of perspective of what is really important.

I cannot help thinking that some of the No campaigners in the current regional assembly debate are in danger of losing the plot as to what this is all about.

Like The Northern Echo I am in favour of a regional assembly. The general feeling I get is that most people are in favour of the concept but need to be convinced that it can be implemented in real life. I believe it can and I am actively campaigning for the Yes campaign. But if the public, having considered all the arguments, vote No then so be it. It will be a great opportunity wasted but I'll accept it and get on with life.

But what I regard as unacceptable is that some people may be making their minds up on the basis of information put out by the No campaign that is simply untrue.

This debate should not be seen as win at all costs. It has major implications for the North-East but it is not a life or death issue. Both the Yes and No campaigns must ensure that they deal in facts, not lies and innuendo.

Yesterday it emerged that staff working on behalf of the No campaign at a call centre in Preston had told blatant lies to members of the public ringing up expecting honest information.

Workers at the centre, which is run by the UKIP political party, told callers that land had been earmarked at Easington in County Durham for a building to house the assembly in the event of a Yes vote. Totally untrue.

The BBC told me the same call centre also gave them false information about representation on the assembly.

I'm glad to hear that Graham Robb, the public face of the No campaign, has apologised but the fact is that these are not isolated incidents.

I have heard No campaigners repeatedly claim a Yes vote will lead to more politicians.

This again is blatantly untrue. A Yes vote will actually lead to hundreds of councillors across the North-East being replaced by just 25 assembly members.

Of course the Yes and No campaigns seek to publicise their points of view. But they each received £100,000 of public money to facilitate this so are under a public responsibility to be truthful.

I believe a Yes vote will lead to substantial falls in crime across the North-East because a regional assembly can ensure that successful crime busting strategies - like those used in Middlesbrough - can be brought to doorsteps across the region.

In a similar way we can ensure the region benefits from best practice in health, transport, job creation and many other areas and that the future of the region is decided by accountable people based in the North-East rather than faceless bureaucrats in London.

The job of the No campaign is to publicise their side of the argument - but if they continue to base this on lies, democracy will be the loser whatever the result.

Published: 22/10/2004