It was good to see in Monday's Echo that Redcar MP Vera Baird is pushing Government to move their own quality jobs to regions like ours. This could be a classic win-win situation and I suspect it's often the officers, not the politicians, who are hardest to convince.

I've argued fiercely before that regions desperately in need of high quality work, and ours is not the only one, would receive enormous benefit. Importantly, though, so would the reluctant incomers.

In a comparatively small country, and with the availability of broadband communication and video conferencing, there is no longer a sensible reason why every ministry needs to be based in the congested, expensive capital.

I'd like to take the argument a little further and seriously suggest that EVERY ministry should be regionally based. There would, of course, be a need for a co-ordinating London hub, but breaking the out-dated capital mould would really make a difference. The Department of Trade and Industry could be based in Tees Valley, the Health Department in Manchester, Ministry of Defence in Portsmouth, and so it goes on.

What of the re-located civil servants who currently think that life stops at Surbiton? You know as well as I do that their eyes would be opened. The quality of life, and the buying power of their salaries, would simply amaze them. They would talk in glowing terms to friends in business and the snowball would begin its way downhill.

For businesses here, too, the spin-off and supply work would give practical benefits. Above all, though, the aspirations of our youngsters would change dramatically. Their daily vision of quality jobs just round the corner would open their eyes to possibilities too.

Once you start a bit of lateral thinking on this, benefits keep popping up. Mayor Livingstone's congestion problem would be dramatically reduced, and the saving to the public purse on buildings costs would be dramatic.

The change in mind set would be an added bonus. A new generation of workers would be reminded on a daily basis that contacts from here to the capital are not bad, but it would suddenly mean that the slowing of plans by the Strategic Rail Authority would be a thing of the past.

The Treasury Minister, Paul Boateng, gave a rather limp reply to Vera Baird when he effectively pointed out that more money is coming to our Regional Development Agency. That's fine, but this country needs a leap of imagination rather than fine tuning.

Tony Blair knows the many advantages of the North East better than most; perhaps he could lead the charge.

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If you need to exercise laughter muscles with so much heavy news around us, let me recommend the Cackling Clown Comedy Club at the Studio in Hartlepool next Sunday evening (February 2nd).

The show is headlined by Gavin Webster, fresh from BBC1 and Channel 4, best described as a provocative charmer. Also appearing are award-winning Des Sharples and the slightly unhinged (it says here) Joanne Dalkin. Completing the quartet is John Cooper who describes himself as a surrealist from Sunderland - I thought they all were.

Warren Speed is compering, and his banter with a Hartlepool audience is always worth the £4 alone. Be there or be miserable.

Published: 29/01/2003