A SLIM majority of North-East voters do want their own regional assembly and would like it to be based in Durham City, according to an exclusive poll carried out by The Northern Echo.

The poll coincides with yesterday's Queen's Speech in which the Government outlined its plans for a referendum in the region about setting up a directly-elected mini-parliament.

Our poll found that by 31.9 per cent to 25.1 per cent, the region south of the Tyne is in favour of an assembly - although 32.5 per cent have yet to make their minds up and another 10.5 per cent cannot be bothered with the idea.

The Northern Echo's poll, in which more than 1,200 people from the Tees to the Tyne were canvassed, is the biggest attempt ever made to discover the region's feelings. Although the 6.8 per cent majority in favour is much tighter than previous, smaller polls have found, it will probably be a boost to the"yes" campaign.

The perceived wisdom is that regional devolution has been driven through by Newcastle and Tyneside with the rest of the region dragged reluctantly on its coat-tails.

However, even on Tees-side, which has been assumed to be the most against the Geordie push for an assembly, there is a narrow "yes" vote of three per cent.

"We are not surprised but encouraged because the response confirms that this move is across the whole of the North-East and not just on Tyneside," said Brian Hall of the Campaign for a North-East Assembly.

However, the North-East's Conservative MEP, Martin Callanan, said: "It gives the lie to the view that there's overwhelming support for an assembly. There's only a minority in favour, and the majority don't know or are not interested. When they start thinking about the issues, they will vote against."

The biggest question within the regional assembly debate is where the assembly should be based. The choice of a venue is symbolic of whether the assembly is going to be focused on the whole region and not just Newcastle-orientated.

Our poll found that 40.4 per cent of voters want the assembly based in Durham and only 26.9 per cent in Newcastle.

"The assembly will probably roam, holding meetings anywhere from Middlesbrough to Berwick," said Mr Hall, "but a base will need to be found.

"Many people inside our campaign are aware that Durham with its deep historical background would be an obvious candidate."

As well as containing outlines of the regional assembly legislation, yesterday's Queen's Speech showed how the Government plans to move from a criminal justice system to a "victim justice system".