Robert Swan, born in Neasham, near Darlington, is well-known for his walks to the North and South poles and less well-known for his campaigning on issues such as the environment and the battle against HIV and Aids in Africa.

"I FEEL that regional government could be an exciting thing. I do have a sense of coming from the North-East - not the North, but the North-East.

In my life, the image of the region has changed, from the idea of it's grim up north, that it is all muck and grime, to a sense that the area has improved.

That old image has gone and now may be the time to take the next step and create a regional government. But although I support the idea, it is important that it is not seen as just another layer of management. That is why, although I support the concept, I am not in favour of a large regional assembly from the start.

I am in favour, instead, of what I call a leadership team. Good leadership is crucial if this is to work and I would envisage a small team which could be elected, say for a year initially, to investigate the way forward, assuming that people vote for regional government in a referendum.

There is no need for a big building or a big assembly, certainly not at the start. The leadership team can have a small office and be a small, tight group, which spends its time getting out and about finding out what needs to be done. To use an expedition term, it needs to carry out reconnaissance.

Selecting the leadership team is central to this. It may be that they are not the very top people in the region, not the most famous. Those people may not have the time to devote, may not be able to commit to the job. What we need are quality people who can be committed to making it work.

We need people with the energy, people who can make this team vibrant and who can inspire people. The team needs to be able to look beyond constituencies, beyond particular areas, and look instead at what is good for the region. And it needs to be given powers and a budget to make its ideas work.

The first year after election would be spent asking the big questions: is there a regional strategy for education, transport, unemployment, sport and the environment? At the moment, the answer to that is probably no.

The leadership team has to be honest: it may be that after a year it comes back and says there is no need for a large assembly, that the team itself is in a better position to drive its ideas forward if re-elected. It might also say that the idea of a regional strategy for some areas, be it education, be it the environment or whatever, simply is not viable.

Which brings me on to another important point. I am opposed to the idea of removing district councils or county councils as part of this process, which is what people will also be asked to vote on in October.

I have too much respect for the people who work in local government to feel that it is right to simply remove an entire level of local government in one swipe.

I think that would be wrong and dishonourable to those people when we still need their experience, expertise and ideas. To lose that layer of history and knowledge would be dangerous.

The ideas I have outlined would allow us to retain those councils because the regional government would be a smaller organisation."

* To find our more about Mr Swan's campaigning, visit www.inspire.gb.com