The Electoral Commission today announced the two organisations who will run the official 'Yes' and 'No' campaigns in the run up to the referendum on the North East Regional Assembly.

Yes4theNorthEast and North East Says No will go head to head before voters go to the polls on November 4 in the all-postal ballot.

They will each be handed £100,000 of Government money and given free TV airtime and leaflet drops.

The North East is the only region in England going to the polls after problems with the all-postal voting in the local elections in the North West and Yorkshire & Humber regions.

The ballot in the North East could be the last using all-postal voting as the Electoral Commission recommended the Government use an alternative method.

Yes4theNorthEast was the only applicant on the Yes side, while North East Says No beat Metric Martyr Neil Herron's The North East No Campaign and the BNP to lead the official No campaign.

Both camps are now eligible for £100,000 funding from the Electoral Commission and can spend up to a maximum of £665,000 on their campaigns.

Supporters of the Yes campaign include ex-Newcastle United chairman Sir John Hall, TV agony aunt Denise Robertson, former Olympic athlete Brendan Foster and opera star Suzannah Clarke.

While North East Says No can rely on some of the region's top businessmen, including Sir Tom Cowie, Greggs director Colin Gregg and John Elliott.

Sam Younger, chairman of the Electoral Commission, said: ''The commission has selected Yes4theNorthEast and North East Says No as the designated organisations based on carefully considered evidence and argumentation.

''We hope that both organisations will now lead the North East region in informed debate by highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of an elected regional assembly and enable voters to make an informed decision on November 4.''