Following yesterday's Queen's Speech, more details will be announced today about how the North-East could get its own assembly.

Political Editor Chris Lloyd throws The Northern Echo's weight behind Durham City as a base for the assembly and reports on our exclusive poll.

1.Some might say that The Northern Echo is presumptuous in raising the question of the assembly's location before a referendum has been held to decide whether there will be an assembly at all.

But the location of the assembly will play a key part in the referendum. If the 'yes' campaign is to win, it has to prove that the assembly is for the whole of the region - not just for a single part of it.

Conservative MEP Martin Callanan said yesterday: "If the 'no' campaign is to win, it will do so by taking the rural vote and Durham and Cleveland. A lot of 'yes' campaigners have made it clear that with the majority of the population living on Tyneside, it should be based on Tyneside, so it would become a Geordie Parliament and a Geordie tax would be imposed on the North-East to pay for it."

A symbol is required that this is not a Geordie Parliament. No more potent a symbol is the assembly's physical location. Newcastle would send out signals that it is a Geordie Parliament; Durham would send out signals that this is more than a Geordie Parliament and give the rest of the region something to vote for.

2. Geographically, Durham is the ideal choice because it is as equidistant as is possible from the North-East's three main conurbations of Tyneside, Wearside and Teesside.

3. Durham has no obvious connections to any of the big three. It does not live in the shadow of any of them. It is independently in the middle.

4. Durham is, of course, perfectly accessible from all parts of the region by road - the A1M and the A690 - and by rail, via the East Coast main line.

5. Historically, Durham is the ideal choice. It was the seat of the Prince Bishops who ruled between Tees and Tyne from the 11th to the 16th centuries. Durham is the North-East's natural and historical capital - it would be odd to create another one.

6. But Durham's historical claims are not just centuries old. Before the last great re-organisation of local government in 1974, the city was the base for the council that served the ancient county which had its borders at the Tees and the Tyne.

7. History has also left Durham as a World Heritage Site. Its cathedral is known throughout the world. It is a tourist mecca - just the face the North-East wants to show the world.

8. As well as its heritage, the name of Durham is synonymous throughout the world with its university. The university's reputation is for quality and excellence - just the image the North-East wants to show the world.

9. One of the major obstacles facing an assembly is the reorganisation of the local government structure beneath it. Yesterday's Queen's Speech reiterated that before a referendum can be held, the council structure must be slimmed down.

This affects Durham and Northumberland where there are both county councils and district councils. One layer will have to go. A boundary commission will look at this issue, probably within the next year. Whatever it chooses, the obvious argument from the 'no' camp will be that regional government in reality means power being further away from the people rather than closer to them.

If Durham City were to be the base of the assembly, this argument would lose sway in the county.

10. Durham itself already has a potential debating chamber for the assembly in the splendid miners' union headquarters at Redhill - one of the region's architectural gems that is crying out for a modern use. Equally, should Durham County Council lose the battle for survival, there will be its buildings to consider. In short, with two prospective meeting places if Durham were the choice, there would be no need for the embarrassing expense that Scotland and Wales have endured in building a new parliament.

There will, of course, be other candidates. Newcastle's case is very strong and, in the minds of Tynesiders it probably starts as favourite. However, many inside the 'yes' campaign already accept that its case is flawed as it sends out the wrong signals of being a Geordie Parliament.

Our poll shows that there are already other names in the frame. Some are fuelled by parochial interests - Teesside, for example, only finds favour on Teesside. Others are intriguing suggestions (although York with 0.25 per cent has to be discounted as it is 40 miles outside the North-East as defined by the assembly). Sunderland gets surprisingly few mentions, although Darlington, Sedgefield, Peterlee and Chester-le-Street are interesting ideas. If a hitherto overlooked town were to come out saying it wanted the assembly, it would bring the 'yes' campaign to life.

For example, Darlington could make a compelling case. It is the gateway to the Tees Valley and has superb transport links with the rest of the region and country. It is nowhere near as congested as Durham or Newcastle and on most weekdays it is possible to get parked in the town centre - something that would make the North-East the envy of the whole country.

What the people of the North-East said to our canvassers

Billingham

"a further layer of bureaucracy"; "it would not cover Cleveland well"; "we'll have to get rid of something before doing this"; "Newcastle is too far away, it needs to be local".

Darlington

"I'm not interested because too many politicians are in it for publicity"; "it should be based rurally"; "Durham is the only place it can be, but it's too sensible an answer".

Barnard Castle

"there should be a mini-parliament - we know what's needed in this area whereas the bumbling idiots in London don't know anything about it"; "any new assembly will cost a fortune and come out of taxpayers' money".

Durham City

"nothing gets done in the North-East so it's not a bad thing"; "Newcastle is the focal point".

Durham villages

"it's fine as it is"; "we'd be different from the rest of the country if we had one"; "Durham is the capital of the North-East"; "Newcastle is the biggest city in the North-East".

Stanley

"There are bigger problems in the world to solve first."

Chester-le-Street

"there's plenty of clerks pushing paper about already"; "common sense says Durham, but we know common sense doesn't come into political issues"; "Durham is the most historic place"; "York is the heartland of the North-East".

Peterlee

"it's been alright undivided for centuries so how can we be sure things will be better by dividing it?"