ampaigners behind the failed bid to provide Darlington with an elected mayor have vowed to continue their fight to make the town democratic.

A meeting has been called to discuss the way forward for the campaign, which suffered a 59 per cent to 41 per cent defeat in last week's mayoral referendum.

Stuart Hill, a leading player in the Yes campaign, said a meeting would be held on Wednesday ahead of a public meeting later in the month.

He said: "I'm disappointed after all the efforts we put in.

"But the feeling is that we rest our feet, catch up on the housework, and then meet again on Wednesday to tie up all the loose ends of the old campaign, put it to bed, and then look at how we can make a contribution to the new campaign for democracy in Darlington."

Mr Hill said he had lost half a stone in weight through the exertions of the campaign, but vowed to continue to hold the council to account.

He said: "The council has said they have changed, but they have not changed one little bit. They will not listen unless they are forced to. In Burma, they are struggling for levels of democracy that we, in Darlington, take for granted."

Mr Hill said the group was not tempted to form a political group in the aftermath of the referendum, despite nearly 8,000 voters showing their support for the campaign.

"If we were ever to go down that line, we would lose our supporters who are already members of other political groups," he said.

Mr Hill said that the group would scrutinise the 2006 White Paper which, if passed, would hand council leaders executive powers. He said this could further take democracy out of the hands of the electorate.

Councillor Heather Scott, leader of the Darlington Conservative group, said she was also opposed to the plans.

She said: "I'm a true believer in democracy and what I would like to see is a lot more people voting so you get a better representation.

"I disagree totally with the Government White Paper. It'll be interesting to see if Gordon Brown changes it - it's trying to bring in these powers by the back door."