View source for 2004 North East England devolution referendum

{{Use British English|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox referendum
| name = 2004 North East England devolution referendum
| title = You can help to decide whether there should be an elected assembly in the North East region.

If an elected assembly is to be established, it is intended that:
*the elected assembly would be responsible for a range of activities currently carried out mainly by central government bodies, including regional economic development; and
*local government would be reorganised into a single-tier in those parts of the region that currently have both county and district councils.
Should there be an elected assembly for the North East region?
| location = [[North East England]]
| country = England
| flag_year= 2004
| date= 4 November 2004
| yes = 197310
| no = 696519
| total = 906367
| electorate = 1899742
| map = North East assembly referendum, 2004 results.svg
| mapdivision = local authority
}}
{{Politics of England}} {{UK Referendums}}

The '''2004 North East England devolution referendum''' was an all postal ballot referendum that took place on 4 November 2004  throughout [[North East England]] on whether or not to establish an elected assembly for the region. Devolution referendums in the regions of Northern England were initially proposed under provisions of the [[Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Act 2003]]. Initially, three referendums were planned, but only one took place. The votes concerned the question of [[devolution|devolving]] limited political powers from the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|UK Parliament]] to [[Regional assembly (England)|elected regional assemblies]] in North East England, [[North West England]] and [[Yorkshire and the Humber]] respectively. Each were initially planned to be held on 4 November 2004, but on 22 July 2004 the planned referendums in North West England and in Yorkshire and the Humber were postponed, due to concerns raised about the use of postal ballots, but the referendum in North East England was allowed to continue, particularly as it was assumed that the region held the most support for the proposed devolution.

On 4 November 2004, voters in the North East rejected the proposal, in an all-postal ballot, by 77.9% to 22.1%, on a turnout of 48%. Every council area in the region had a majority for "no". The referendum was held in what was at the time arguably [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour's]] strongest region within the [[United Kingdom]] which included at the time the then [[Sedgefield (UK Parliament constituency)|Prime Minister Tony Blair's own constituency in Sedgefield]]. The defeat marked the end of the Labour Government's policy of devolution for England, and the other proposed referendums for the North West and for Yorkshire and the Humber were dropped indefinitely. This would also be the last major devolution referendum to be held in any part of the [[United Kingdom]] under the Labour Government of 1997–2010.

The campaign against the proposed Assembly was successfully led by local businessman [[Ebac#John Elliott|John Elliott]],<ref>North East votes 'no' to assembly, [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3984387.stm "BBC News"], November 2004.</ref> who argued that the institution would have no real powers and that it would be a "white elephant" and too centric to [[Newcastle upon Tyne]].

It was the first major referendum to be held in any part of the United Kingdom which was conducted and overseen by the [[Electoral Commission (United Kingdom)|Electoral Commission]] after its establishment in 2000 under the [[Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000]].

==Background==
The [[Premiership of Tony Blair|Labour government]] attempted to introduce directly elected English [[Regional assembly (England)|regional assemblies]]. The [[London Assembly]] was the first of these, established following a [[1998 Greater London Authority referendum|referendum in 1998]], in which public and media attention was focused principally on the post of [[Mayor of London]].<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1998/london_referendum/89327.stm 'Overwhelming vote for Mayor'], [[BBC News Online]], 8 May 1998</ref>

==Assembly proposals==
[[File:John Prescott on his last day as Deputy Prime Minister, June 2007.jpg|thumb|Then [[John Prescott|Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott]], the key proponent of the proposed assembly plans]]
Voters were asked whether they wanted an elected regional assembly to be created for their region. The structure and powers of elected regional assemblies was outlined in a Draft Regional Assemblies Bill<ref>[https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/251120/6285.pdf Draft Regional Assemblies Bill]</ref> presented to [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] by [[Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Deputy Prime Minister]] [[John Prescott]] in July 2004.

The draft bill proposed the following structure:
* The assembly would be a [[Legal person|body corporate]] with a distinct legal identity.
* Each assembly would be composed of between 25 and 35 assembly members elected by the [[Mixed-member proportional representation|additional member system]].
* The assembly would select one member as the chairman and another as deputy chairman to preside over its debates.
* The assembly would have an Executive (cabinet) composed of a Leader and between two and six Executive Members.

The draft bill would have given the assemblies the following powers:
* Promotion of economic development
* Promotion of social development
** Promote health, safety and security
** Reduce health inequalities
** Enhance individual participation in society
** Improve the availability of good housing
** Improve skills and the availability of training
** Improve the availability of cultural and recreational activities
* Improvement and protection of the environment
* Additional functions and duties that the Secretary of State thinks appropriate

==Local government reorganisation==
The creation of regional assemblies was to be tied to abolition of the existing two-tier structure for [[Local government in the United Kingdom|local government]] in these regions; and its replacement with a uniform system of [[unitary authority|unitary authorities]].  In areas that had two-tier government ([[Cheshire]], [[County Durham]], [[Cumbria]], [[Lancashire]], [[North Yorkshire]], [[Northumberland]]), voters were to be asked which pattern of unitary government they would like to see.

Two options were proposed by the [[Boundary Committee for England|Boundary Committee]] for each county in the review area – generally consisting of a single unitary authority for the entire county, or a break-up into smaller authorities which are larger than the existing [[Districts of England|districts]].  It was recommended that [[Ceremonial counties of England|ceremonial counties]] be left untouched in most cases.  This recommendation was broadly (with one minor alteration in [[West Lancashire]]) accepted by the [[Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government|Office of the Deputy Prime Minister]].

Voting was to take place on a per-[[county council]]-area basis, except that the [[Cumbria]] and [[Lancashire]] votes would have been run as one – since it would be impossible to have option 1 in one and option 2 in another.

Any changes as a result of the North East referendum would probably have come into effect on 1 April 2006 – to give time for preparation, and taking into account 1 April as the traditional day of local government reform in the UK.

In [[Lancashire]] and [[Cumbria]] the proposals for multiple unitary authorities were very similar to those proposed by the [[Redcliffe-Maud Report]] in 1969.  This proposed authorities for [[North Cumbria]] based in [[Carlisle, Cumbria|Carlisle]], and one for [[Morecambe Bay]] covering [[Barrow-in-Furness]] and [[Lancaster, England|Lancaster]] for the north of the region.  In central Lancashire there were to be divided into four authorities based on [[Blackpool]], [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]], [[Blackburn]] and [[Burnley]].  The area of [[West Lancashire]] was to be given to [[Merseyside]] and included with [[Southport]] in a district.

The options were as follows for North East England:

===North East England===

====County Durham====
{| border="0" cellpadding="2" width=100%
|-
|[[File:Durham Option1.png]]
|[[File:Durham Option2.png]]
|-
|valign=top|'''Option A'''
#[[Hartlepool (borough)|Hartlepool]]
#[[Stockton-on-Tees (borough)|Stockton-on-Tees]]
#[[Darlington (borough)|Darlington]]
#Durham Council
|valign=top|'''Option B'''
#[[Hartlepool (borough)|Hartlepool]]
#[[Stockton-on-Tees (borough)|Stockton-on-Tees]]
#[[Darlington (borough)|Darlington]]
#South Durham<br /><small>([[Sedgefield (borough)|Sedgefield]], [[Teesdale (district)|Teesdale]] and [[Wear Valley]])</small>
#North Durham<br /><small>([[Chester-le-Street (district)|Chester-le-Street]] and [[Derwentside]])</small>
#East Durham<br /><small>([[Durham (district)|Durham]] and [[Easington (district)|Easington]])</small>
|}

====Northumberland====
{| border="0" cellpadding="2" width=100%
|-
|[[File:Northumberland Option1.png]]
|[[File:Northumberland Option2.png]]
|-
|valign=top|'''Option A'''
#Northumberland Council
|valign=top|'''Option B'''
#Rural Northumberland<br /><small>([[Alnwick (district)|Alnwick]], [[Berwick-upon-Tweed (borough)|Berwick-upon-Tweed]], [[Castle Morpeth]] and [[Tynedale]])</small>
#South East Northumberland<br /><small>([[Blyth Valley]] and [[Wansbeck District|Wansbeck]])</small>
|}

==Referendum questions==
All voters in the [[North East England]] region were asked to vote on the question of whether or not there should be an elected Assembly. Voters in [[County Durham]] and [[Northumberland]] were asked to vote on an additional second question on proposals for local government reorganisation in the event of a "yes" vote.

===Assembly referendum question===
The question that appeared on ballot papers was:
{{Blockquote|
<poem>
You can help to decide whether there should be an elected assembly in the North East region.
If an elected assembly is to be established, it is intended that:
*the elected assembly would be responsible for a range of activities currently carried out mainly by central government bodies, including regional economic development; and
*local government would be reorganised into a single-tier in those parts of the region that currently have both county and district councils.
Should there be an elected assembly for the North East region?
</poem>
}}
permitting a simple '''YES''' / '''NO''' answer (to be marked with a single (X)).

===Local Government reorganisation referendum question===
The question that appeared on ballot papers in [[County Durham]] and [[Northumberland]] was:
{{Blockquote|If an assembly is established in the North East region, it is intended that local government will be reorganised into a single tier in those parts that currently have both county councils and district councils.

Your part of the region has currently both county councils and district councils. You can help to decide how local authorities in your part of the region will be reorganised into a single tier. There will be no such reorganisation if an elected Assembly is not established.
}}

with the responses to the question to be (to be marked with a single (X)):
{{Blockquote|
<poem>
Option A
Option B
</poem>
}}

==Results==
On 4 November 2004, in a turnout of almost 48% in an all [[Postal voting|postal ballot]], voters in the North East decisively rejected the proposed regional assembly.<ref>[http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/election-data/index.cfm?epage=q&frmElectionID=4 Electoral Commission results page], URL accessed 27 September 2007 {{dead url|date=July 2024}}</ref><ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3984387.stm North East votes 'no' to assembly], ''BBC News'', Friday, 5 November 2004</ref> The reasons for this result are varied; however, it is felt{{by whom|date=May 2012}} that the regional power would have been concentrated in an Assembly situated in Newcastle upon Tyne,{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}} which given the strong historic rivalries between urban centres in the North-East may have caused resentment from the people of [[Sunderland, Tyne and Wear|Sunderland]] and [[Middlesbrough]]. Notwithstanding this, in the [[Newcastle upon Tyne]] local council area itself the majority of votes cast were against the proposal. It was also felt that not enough of a case had been put forward for the necessity of the Assembly, and it was feared that it would add another layer of politicians and public servants, thereby increasing taxes for the citizens of the areas affected.<ref>"[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3985047.stm No camp hail 'resounding' victory]". ''BBC News'', Monday, 5 November 2004</ref>

===Assembly question result===
The referendum result was declared at 00:52 GMT on Friday 5 November 2004 at Crowtree Leisure Centre in [[City of Sunderland|Sunderland]] by the Chief Counting Officer for the North East region Ged Fitzgerald, who was also then Chief Executive of Sunderland City Council.
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:right; font-size:100%;"
|-
| colspan="4" bgcolor="#E9E9E9" align="center" | [[File:Flag of England.svg|50px]]<br />'''North East England devolution referendum, 2004''' <br />Result
|- bgcolor="#09a8ff" align="center"
! align="left" colspan="2" width="250" | Choice
! width="80" | Votes
! width="50" | %
|-
| bgcolor="#DF0A24" |
| align="left" | '''No'''
| '''696,519''' || '''77.93%'''
|-
| width="1" bgcolor="#24B14C" |
| align="left" | Yes
| 197,310 || 22.07%
|-
| colspan="4" bgcolor="#E9E9E9" | 
|-
| align="left" colspan="2" | Valid votes
| 893,829 || 98.62%
|-
| align="left" colspan="2" | Invalid or blank votes
| 12,538 || 1.38%
|- style="font-weight:bold;"
|-
| align="left" colspan="2" | '''Total votes'''
| '''906,367''' || '''100.00 %'''
|-
| colspan="4" bgcolor="#E9E9E9" | 
|-
| align="left" colspan="2" | Registered voters and turnout
| 1,899,742 || 47.71%
|-
|}

{{Referendum bar
| title = Referendum

| text1       = Yes
| vote1       = 197,310
| background1 = #24b14c
| textcolor1  = #fff

| text2       = No
| vote2       = 696,519
| background2 = #df0a24
| textcolor2  = #fff
}}

===Results by local council areas===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Local authority !! Yes votes !! No votes!! Yes % !! No % !! Turnout*
|- style="background:pink;"
| [[Alnwick District|Alnwick]] || 2,771 || '''11,666''' || 23.7% || '''76.3%''' || 57.4%
|- style="background:pink;"
| [[Borough of Berwick-upon-Tweed|Berwick-upon-Tweed]] || 2,250 || '''8,597''' || 26.1% || '''73.9%''' || 52.3%
|- style="background:pink;"
| [[Blyth Valley]] || 7,523 || '''21,178''' || 35.5% || '''64.5%''' || 45.5%
|- style="background:pink;"
| [[Castle Morpeth]] || 4,776 || '''16,952''' || 28.1% || '''71.9%''' || 57.2%
|- style="background:pink;"
| [[Chester-le-Street (district)|Chester-le-Street]] || 5,487 || '''15,610''' || 35.1% || '''64.9%''' || 49.5%
|- style="background:pink;"
| [[Borough of Darlington|Darlington]] || 4,784 || '''32,282''' || 14.8% || '''85.2%''' || 49.0%
|- style="background:pink;"
| [[Derwentside]] || 9,718 || '''22,888''' || 42.4%|| '''57.6%''' || 49.1%
|- style="background:pink;"
| [[Durham District|Durham]] || 9,791 || '''24,106''' || 40.6% || '''59.4%''' || 48.3%
|- style="background:pink;"
| [[Easington District|Easington]] || 8,065 || '''21,520''' || 37.4% || '''62.6%''' || 42.5%
|- style="background:pink;"
| [[Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead|Gateshead]] || 17,011 || '''52,459''' || 32.4% || '''67.6%''' || 49.3%
|- style="background:pink;"
| [[Borough of Hartlepool|Hartlepool]] || 4,887 || '''24,240''' || 20.2% || '''79.8%''' || 42.9%
|- style="background:pink;"
| [[Middlesbrough]] || 7,977 || '''33,543''' || 23.8% || '''76.2%''' || 42.1%
|- style="background:pink;"
| [[Newcastle upon Tyne]] || 19,984 || '''61,477''' || 32.6% || '''67.4%''' || 46.4%
|- style="background:pink;"
| [[North Tyneside]] || 15,203 || '''55,121''' || 27.5% || '''72.5%''' || 50.7%
|- style="background:pink;"
| [[Redcar and Cleveland|Redcar & Cleveland]] || 8,493 || '''43,250''' || 19.7% || '''80.3%''' || 50.6%
|- style="background:pink;"
| [[Sedgefield (borough)|Sedgefield]] || 9,040 || '''23,583''' || 38.3% || '''61.7%''' || 48.3%
|- style="background:pink;"
| [[South Tyneside]] || 11,329 || '''41,029''' || 27.6% || '''72.3%''' || 46.3%
|- style="background:pink;"
| [[Borough of Stockton-on-Tees|Stockton-on-Tees]] || 11,050 || '''52,040''' || 21.3% || '''78.7%''' || 48.3%
|- style="background:pink;"
| [[City of Sunderland|Sunderland]] || 17,927 || '''71,893''' || 25.0% || '''75.0%''' || 43.4%
|- style="background:pink;"
| [[Teesdale (district)|Teesdale]] || 2,020 || '''8,972''' || 22.5% || '''77.5%''' || 56.9%
|- style="background:pink;"
| [[Tynedale]] || 5,146 || '''20,975''' || 24.5% || '''75.5%''' || 55.4%
|- style="background:pink;"
| [[Wansbeck District|Wansbeck]] || 5,947 || '''15,503''' || 38.4% || '''61.6%''' || 46.6%
|- style="background:pink;"
| [[Wear Valley]] || 6,131 || '''17,635''' || 34.7% || '''65.3%''' || 49.9%
|-
|}
''*'' Valid and rejected votes divided by electorate.

===Local government reorganisation question result===

The related votes in [[Northumberland]] and [[County Durham]] on local government changes became moot, though new single merged unitary authorities were later established based on the county council areas (i.e. Option A in each case) as part of the [[2009 structural changes to local government in England]].  The votes had been:

{| class="wikitable"
! County !! Option A !! Option B !! Turnout*
|-
| County Durham || '''89,149'''|| 87,050 || 47.1%
|-
| Northumberland || 51,560 || '''66,140''' || 50.2%
|}
''*'' Valid and rejected votes divided by electorate.

==Planned referendums in North West England and Yorkshire and the Humber==
[[File:EnglandSubdivisionsProposed2004.png|thumb|The [[Subdivisions of England|counties and unitary authorities of England]], if "yes" and option 2 is chosen in all referendums.]]
Similar referendums had been planned in [[North West England]] and [[Yorkshire and the Humber]].  These were postponed on 22 July due to issues with all-postal ballots – there were many allegations of fraud and procedural irregularities.  Following the rejection of the proposal in the north east of England the [[Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Deputy Prime Minister]] [[John Prescott]] at the time, ruled out holding further referendums in other regions for the foreseeable future.<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3992435.stm Prescott rules out regional polls], ''BBC News'', Monday, 8 November 2004</ref>

===North West England===
These were the proposals for local government reorganisation in Northwest England. After the result in North East England the planned referendum for the region was postponed indefinitely and was never put before the electorate.

====Cheshire====
{| border="0" cellpadding="2" width=100%
|-
|[[File:Cheshire Option1.png]]
|[[File:Cheshire Option2.png]]
|-
|valign=top|'''Option 1'''
#[[Halton (borough)|Halton]]
#[[Warrington]]
#Cheshire Council
|valign=top|'''Option 2'''
#[[Halton (borough)|Halton]]
#[[Warrington]]
#Chester and West Cheshire<br /><small>([[Chester (district)|Chester]] and [[Ellesmere Port and Neston]])</small>
#Mid Cheshire<br /><small>([[Vale Royal]] and [[Crewe and Nantwich]])</small>
#East Cheshire<br /><small>([[Congleton (borough)|Congleton]] and [[Macclesfield (borough)|Macclesfield]])</small>
|}

====Cumbria====
{| border="0" cellpadding="2" width=100%
|-
|[[File:Cumbria Option1.png]]
|[[File:Cumbria Option2.png]]
|-
|valign=top|'''Option 1'''
#Cumbria Council
|valign=top|'''Option 2'''
#North Cumbria<br /><small>([[Allerdale]], [[City of Carlisle|Carlisle]], [[Copeland, Cumbria|Copeland]] and [[Eden District|Eden]])</small>
#Morecambe Bay<br /><small>([[Barrow-in-Furness (borough)|Barrow-in-Furness]], [[South Lakeland]], and [[City of Lancaster|Lancaster]] from [[Lancashire]])</small>
|}

====Lancashire====
{| border="0" cellpadding="2" width=100%
|-
|[[File:Lancashire Option1.png]]
|[[File:Lancashire Option2.png]]
|-
|valign=top|'''Option 1'''
#Blackpool with Fleetwood<br /><small>([[Blackpool]] with parts of [[Borough of Wyre|Wyre]])</small>
#[[Blackburn with Darwen]]
#Lancashire Council
|valign=top|'''Option 2'''
#[[Morecambe Bay]]<br /><small>([[City of Lancaster|Lancaster]] with [[South Lakeland]] and [[Barrow-in-Furness (borough)|Barrow-in-Furness]] from [[Cumbria]])</small>
#Blackpool and the Fylde<br /><small>([[Blackpool]], [[Borough of Wyre|Wyre]] and [[Fylde (borough)|Fylde]])</small>
#Central Lancashire<br /><small>([[City of Preston, Lancashire|Preston]], [[South Ribble]] and [[Chorley (borough)|Chorley]])</small>
#East Lancashire<br /><small>([[Burnley (borough)|Burnley]], [[Borough of Pendle|Pendle]], [[Ribble Valley]] and [[Borough of Rossendale|Rossendale]])</small>
#Blackburn with Hyndburn<br /><small>([[Blackburn with Darwen]] and [[Hyndburn]])</small>
#Sefton and West Lancashire<br /><small>([[Metropolitan Borough of Sefton|Sefton]] from [[Merseyside]], with part of [[West Lancashire]])</small>
#Wigan<br /><small>([[Wigan (borough)|Wigan]] from [[Greater Manchester]], with part of [[West Lancashire]])</small>
|}

===Yorkshire and the Humber===
These were the proposals for local government reorganisation in the Yorkshire and the Humber region. After the result in North East England the planned referendum was postponed indefinitely and was also never put before the electorate.

====North Yorkshire====
{| border="0" cellpadding="2" width=100%
|-
|[[File:North Yorkshire Option1.png]]
|[[File:North Yorkshire Option2.png]]
|-
|valign=top|'''Option 1'''
#[[Stockton-on-Tees (borough)|Stockton-on-Tees]]
#[[Middlesbrough (borough)|Middlesbrough]]
#[[Redcar and Cleveland]]
#[[York|City of York]]
#North Yorkshire Council
|valign=top|'''Option 2'''
#[[Stockton-on-Tees (borough)|Stockton-on-Tees]]
#[[Middlesbrough (borough)|Middlesbrough]]
#[[Redcar and Cleveland]]
#[[York|City of York]]
#[[Craven District|Craven]] and [[Harrogate (borough)|Harrogate]]
#[[Hambleton District|Hambleton]] and [[Richmondshire]]
#[[Ryedale]] and [[Scarborough (borough)|Scarborough]]
#[[East Riding of Yorkshire]]<br /><small>(existing [[East Riding of Yorkshire]] with [[Selby (district)|Selby]])</small>
|}

==See also==
*[[Referendums in the United Kingdom]]
*[[1998 Greater London Authority referendum]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/election-data/index.cfm?epage=q&frmElectionID=4 UK Electoral Commission]

{{United Kingdom local elections, 2004}}
{{Devolution in the United Kingdom}}

[[Category:Referendums in England|North East England devolution referendum]]
[[Category:2004 in England|North East England devolution referendum]]
[[Category:2004 referendums|North East England devolution referendum]]
[[Category:Politics of Cheshire]]
[[Category:Politics of County Durham]]
[[Category:Politics of Cumbria]]
[[Category:Politics of Lancashire]]
[[Category:Politics of North Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Politics of Northumberland]]
[[Category:English devolution]]
[[Category:2004 elections in the United Kingdom|North East England devolution referendum]]
[[Category:November 2004 in the United Kingdom|North East England devolution referendum]]
[[Category:Northern England]]