Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott brought his battle bus to the North-East today in a bid to win votes for the Yes campaign for a regional assembly.
On the day an exclusive poll for The Northern Echo predicted a crushing defeat for the Government in the referendum on the assembly, Mr Prescott urged people in Darlington, Stockton, Redcar, Middlesbrough and Peterlee to give it the go-ahead.
Speaking in Darlington's Market Place, he said he couldn't ignore The Northern Echo's poll.
But he added: "What we really need to be talking about is the powers that the people in the North-East have.
"All we say is why can't you have the same power to make decisions over the economic development in the area, like they have in Scotland, Wales and London."
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