- guardian.co.uk, Thursday November 4 2004 13.43 GMT
An important election is taking place this week. There are no personalities, only modest campaign funds, and no one is mentioning the war. The outcome of the regional assembly referendum in the north-east of England, has been all but eclipsed by the global implications of the US presidential elections. But the domestic political ramifications of the referendum's outcome ahead of a general election are clearer than George W Bush's majority.
The stakes are high for the Labour party, which has pushed ahead with the referendum as part of constitutional reforms which have so far seen the setting up of the Scottish executive, the Welsh assembly and the return of London-wide government five years ago.
The referendum will serve as a test case for the project ahead of two further polls waiting in the for the north west and the Yorkshire and Humber region. Both are postponed from last July, but the local government minister, Nick Raynsford, recently gave a "cast iron guarantee" that they will go ahead next year. Those referendums are not contingent even on the idea being successful in the north-east region - by far the most emphatic in its zest for devolved government. However, the feeling is that it is unlikely to succeed elsewhere. More crucially, a "no" vote against a Labour policy so close to an election will give the Conservatives reasons to be cheerful.
Sedgefield MP Tony Blair - not known to be the biggest fan of devolved government - has cast his vote in favour, while down the road in Darlington his moderniser parliamentary chum, Alan Milburn, has also given his support to the longstanding ambition of the deputy prime minister, John Prescott, to bring devolution to the north.
Darlington is no stranger to pioneering ideas, having graced the world with its first passenger railway 180 years ago. Now the market town is being asked to back another departure, this time to connect the area more closely to political decision-making.
If Mr Prescott gets his way, he will realise a policy first proposed by CB Fawcett, from Staindrop, in 1919. Since then, the idea has been frequently taken off the shelf by various figures, including the unlikely figure of a Conservative politician, Lord Eustace Percy (Baron Percy of Newcastle), who called for a regional government in the 1930s. A full three quarters of a century later, the matter is being put to the voters, despite the protestations of Percy's modern day political counterparts in the Conservative party.
A Mori poll over the summer indicated that 43% would back devolved government, 19% would not, with the rest undecided. But a lot seems to have changed since then, and as the referendum loomed, the tide seems to have swung in the "no" campaign's favour. Right now, it looks like Tessa Jowell's gamblers should have staked their bets on the "no" horse.
With still hours to go until the polls close at 10pm tonight, 46% of Darlington residents have registered their say in the all-postal ballot on whether the north-east should set up a mini government which would draw powers from Whitehall and from the spread of quangos dotting the north-east.
Turnout is already 6% higher than it was for the European elections last June, also held under the all postal voting system, suggesting that the information campaign disseminated by government has clearly worked. Voters who missed the last post still have their chance to sway the outcome by taking their ballot papers to designated depots dotted across the region.
Voters only have to consider the matter of a regional assembly itself, unlike their neighbours in County Durham, who also face a choice over one of two options for streamlining their two tier council structure into single tier unitary authorities on a separate ballot paper.
The decision facing Darlington voters is this: Do they, as the "yes" campaign for the north-east argues, want to see region-wide powers wielded by 25 elected assembly members to promote economic and social development and environmental improvements, giving the north-east a distinctive identity, a stronger voice, and more control over its destiny?
But do they really, argues the "no" camp - backed by the Tories and a hefty share of the business community - want to see more bureaucracy, higher council taxes, in return for an extra tier of government that is wasteful, expensive and will have little impact?
Other stakeholders, such as the council representative, the Local Government Association, have their own agenda, fearing that a new tier of government will strip them of their powers, rather than lightening Whitehall of its load.
For Alison Noble and her chums, out for a lunchtime pint in the Tannaer Hall pub, the "no" has it. Ms Noble, a former local council employee, puts it simply. "I just think we should keep things the same," she says. "It is just an excuse to make more chiefs."
Her friend exercised her voting right by ripping up her ballot paper. She is clearly against the idea, citing the 'extra layer of red tape' such a devolved government would bring - music to the "no" campaign's ears.
A straw poll of Darlington locals suggests few seem to make the connection between the proposed assembly in the north-east and the ones in London and Wales, apart from pensioner Frank Hughes. Mr Hughes is sold on a regional assembly for the north-east after his friend in Wales told him that under the Welsh assembly, everyone over 60 gets a free bus pass. This would cut £90 from his annual bills, and Mr Hughes has marked his cross accordingly.
Pensioners Rose and Reg Hutchinson, from nearby Middleton Saint George, clearly haven't heard about this. They voted against, seeing the proposals as nothing more than jobs for the political boys and higher council tax bills. "I think we have got enough," says Rose. "If we are paying out more for these that are going to run it than we will have to pay more poll tax (sic)."
Some have simply been blessed with more votes than they know what to do with.
Colin Johnson had the potential to vote twice in the regional assembly referendum, after he voted on behalf of someone living in the neighbouring street by mistake. "There was a bit of a mix-up with my ballot paper because I filled somebody else's by mistake without realising," says the 25-year-old. "Two days a guy from a street around the corner came round and we realised he had mine and I had his." Since Johnson had already cast his vote, he decided to tear up his own ballot paper in the bin. Darlington borough council claims it has not received a single complaint about ballot papers going missing, so it is likely that Johnson's neighbour will simply not have his say.
Mr Johnson's friend Dave Pruden has also had the opportunity to vote twice, after ballot papers were sent to his parents' house, and also to his new address. "So did my sister," says Mr Pruden, who admits he has no intention of voting either way. Darlington borough council is surprised to hear that ballot papers are being so generously distributed. "We have not had reports of people receiving two sets of ballot papers," a council spokesman said.
Whatever the outcome, one thing is clear. With almost half of the 100,000 population bothering to vote, and an average turnout across the region nearing 45%, no one can say that the referendum is another exercise in voter apathy.
· For full coverage of tonight's result, visit our special report on regional government
