THE No campaign in the regional assembly referendum has a difficult job. For decades under successive political parties, the North-East has felt it has been on the periphery of governmental thinking. It has felt that the current system of government does not suit it particularly well.

The next logical step, then, is for a change in the existing arrangements. Nothing radical like independence; just a shift in the balance of power. Some have argued that reform of the funding system - as created by the dreaded Barnett Formula - would do the trick. One North-East MP, who also happens to be Prime Minister, believed that each town should elect a powerful mayor which would create an informal assembly of leading figures to drive the region forward. Others campaign for an elected assembly.

The No campaign, by its very nature, can only say "no". It has no alternative to offer other than preserving the status quo - a status quo which, by common consent, has not served the region especially well for decades.

The official No campaign's launch yesterday was curious in that it concentrated on the limited powers the assembly will have. This is certainly worth pointing out - but the logical extension of this argument is for the No-sters to campaign for the proposed assembly to have more powers.

And even if the assembly does only have limited powers, it has the potential to use those powers in a positive way. The status quo, as experience tells us, offers little in the way of positive potential.

Wisely, the No campaign also talks about people's lack of desire for another tier of politicians. This may be the most persuasive argument. In these days of disillusion, very few believe that politicians offer great hope for the future.

However, because the district councils in Northumberland and Durham will be either amalgamated or wiped out, there will be a large net loss in the number of politicians in the region. In County Durham alone, there are 314 district councillors whose seats are at risk, whereas an elected assembly would only have 25 members.

Still, these are early days. There's nearly a month before polling begins. We welcome the No campaign on the trail because the North-East is on the verge of making an historic decision, and it needs to make that decision with its eyes wide open - even if it does opt to maintain the status quo.