CAN it really be a year since the referendum on whether the North-East should have an elected regional assembly?

It doesn't seem five minutes since the No camp's white elephant was on Palace Green in Durham City, having a rather surreal and ill-tempered encounter with the Yes camp's man dressed as a rat.

But what has happened to direct the region's future since then? Irrespective of the overwhelming "no" vote - the white elephant was infinitely more effective than the rat - the issues facing the North-East certainly haven't gone away.

The north-south divide is still gaping, the decline in manufacturing goes on, and damaging rivalries between the bodies representing the districts of the region are still there.

And all the while, we are inching closer and closer to regionalisation. We still have a North-East Assembly making key decisions, while mergers are on the way for local health, police, fire and ambulance, and learning services.

There are some plus points from the year since the referendum. One NorthEast, the regional development agency, has done an excellent job so far in launching a strategy to promote the North-East around the world and we are pleased to have played our part.

We also welcome the stronger stance taken by the Association of North-East Councils, representing 26 local authorities. We hope it continues to be heard on important issues like the need for a national ports strategy which favours the north.

The region is certainly shifting. But there remains much to be debated at the forthcoming Regional Economic Forum on November 18.