In May 2002, the then Labour UK government published a
white paper,
Your Region, Your Choice, outlining its plans for the possible establishment of Elected Regional Assemblies. These assemblies were to be responsible for regional strategies dealing with sustainable development, economic development,
spatial planning, transport, waste, housing, culture (including tourism) and biodiversity. They would be funded primarily by central government grant, with powers to raise additional funds from a precept (demand for payment) on the
council tax. The Assemblies were expected to be elected by an
Additional Member System similar to those used for the
London Assembly, the
Scottish Parliament and the
National Assembly for Wales. The
Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Act 2003 made provisions for referendums to be held to create such assemblies, and to simplify the structure of local government where this is done. Three such referendums were planned, for the regions of
North East and
North West England and
Yorkshire and the Humber. On 12 February 2004, Local Government Minister
Nick Raynsford announced that elected Assemblies would be able to direct local authorities to refuse strategic planning applications that are not in the region's best interest. They would be able to look across local boundary constraints and ensure planning decisions are made with region-wide interests taken into account. On 8 July 2004, it was announced that the referendums would be held on 4 November, but on 22 July Raynsford announced that only the North East England vote would go ahead on that date. This region was chosen because the government thought it was the most likely to approve the proposal. However,
the voters rejected the assembly by 696,519 votes to 197,310, or about 78 percent to 22 percent. This overwhelmingly negative vote was seen as an insurmountable obstacle to elected regional assemblies elsewhere in England outside London. On 8 November,
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott told the
House of Commons he would not move orders for the other two regions within the effective time limit of June 2005 permitted by the Act. The 'no' vote by the North East also affected the Labour Government's attempt to address the
West Lothian question, because the government had canvassed regional assemblies as a partial solution to this anomaly.
Structure and powers of the proposed assemblies The
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott presented a Draft Regional Assemblies Bill to
Parliament in July 2004. The bill outlined the structure of the proposed assemblies and defined their powers. The draft bill proposed the following structure: • The assembly would be a
body corporate with a distinct legal identity. • Each assembly would be composed of between 25 and 35 assembly members elected by the
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 of the community • 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 == Abolition and replacement ==