EFFORTS continue to create a massive bureaucracy at Newcastle to serve the objectives of those who would give the North-East full-blown regional government.

In our Durham and Cleveland editions today we report on the empire building going on at the existing assembly organisation - an increase in staff from 12 to 18 and an extra £170,000 a year for the region's taxpayers to find.

These extra six bodies - policy officers and a head of communications - will be the "democratic voice" for the region, working alongside the regional development agency, One NorthEast, to bring prosperity to the area.

Spectator remembers just a year ago Dr John Bridge, chairman of One NorthEast, addressing a gathering of Darlington businessmen. His perceptive analysis of how the region fell behind the rest of the country focussed on its people's long-standing inability to embrace the spirit of enterprise in sufficient numbers.

It is so encouraging to know, however, that the spirit of enterprise, in terms of jobs-for-the-boys creation, lives on in the town hall culture of the North-East

It's Hague

WILLIAM Hague is having a tough time at the hands of television caption writers.

If Channel 4 more or less split down the middle the name of the North Yorkshire county town where he has his constituency office (Spectator last week), Tyne Tees did even worse by trailing "Haig's speech" at the Tory conference.

Presumably, like those two other General Haigs (Douglas in 1914 and Alexander in the Pentagon), he was giving a pep talk to his troops..