THE lurch towards regional government seems likely to meet with responses as diverse as the towns, cities and villages that are found across Yorkshire and the Humber.

Bradford and Hawes may be no more than 40 miles apart, but the gulf between the needs of the two communities could be measured in light years.

On the one hand, large city-based commercial ventures are crying out for inward investment to help them compete on a level playing field with others from the South or on the Continent.

The advent of regional development agency Yorkshire Forward has already opened a portal to the corridors of power that never existed in the 1980s - and, suddenly, the industrial North has found itself with a tool to carve a new niche for itself - far removed from the flat-cap-and-whippet stereotype it has found so hard to shake off.

Regional government, therefore, seems the next logical step.

But on the other hand, rural communities claim their needs are often ignored, with the Government's sloth in reacting to the foot-and-mouth crisis now used as a prime example.

So, although John Prescott appeared upbeat when he unveiled the Government's plans for regional assemblies in the House of Commons yesterday, it is going to take much more than that to win over the sceptics. If a regional assembly were to be created for Yorkshire and the Humber, it would mean little change in the cities, which would be likely to keep their unitary councils.

However, in North Yorkshire, one tier of local government could find itself redundant, with either the county or the district authorities in the firing line.

At the regional launch at Leeds United's Elland Road stadium, Sports Minister Richard Caborn said there would be no change without a clear mandate from the public.

But North Yorkshire County Council's chief executive, Jeremy Walker, saw the coming debate as "a distraction".

"Our priority is to concentrate on delivering a top quality service," he said. "At the moment, there are too many unanswered questions to allow a clear debate on regional government.

"Would it improve the local economy? What would the cost be? Would it really mean more power in the regions? There needs to be a serious debate on all these issues - and that may take years."

County council leader John Weighell agreed: "Regional government is simply not a top priority. Better schools, better roads and better social services are. I am anxious that we don't find ourselves going back ten years when another review saw the county and district councils fighting over who should be delivering services to the public."