Voters massively reject first English regional assembly

LONDON (AFP) — Voters have overwhelmingly rejected a proposal for the first regional legislative assembly in England, dealing a heavy blow to the ruling Labour party's drive to decentralize government.

In a referendum Thursday in northeast England, voters rejected by 696,519 to 197,310 a proposal to make the university city of Durham the host to the first of eight elected assemblies in England, official results showed early Friday.

Scotland and Wales, formerly independent nations, opted for regional legislatures in referenda in 1997.

"I think the result is very disappointing and the size of the result is very difficult to take in," said Sir John Hall, a businessman who had campaigned for an assembly after seeing how regionalization "can work in Europe."

The results -- in which all 23 council areas in the northeastern region produced a "no" vote -- was a personal humiliation for Deputy Prime Minister ...