Devolution 2 Years On
BBC North East commissioned Ipsos Scotland to conduct this research two years on from the referendum in which people in the north east voted 'no' to regional government.
BBC North East commissioned Ipsos Scotland to conduct this research two years on from the referendum in which people in the north east voted 'no' to regional government.
The research shows that the majority of people living in the north east believe that they get a worse deal from the government than those living in London -- three quarters think that the north east is worse off in terms of government funding and strength of voice in Parliament than London and more than half (54%) disagree that the north east gets its fair share of central government spending.
Q1 Taking into account the strength of voice the north east has in Parliament and the amount of government funding it receives, do you think the north east is better / worse off / about the same than the following areas?
| Better | Worse off | About the same | Don't know | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | |
| Scotland | 19 | 32 | 40 | 10 |
| Wales | 19 | 20 | 41 | 20 |
| London | 8 | 75 | 9 | 8 |
Q2 To what extent, if at all, do you agree that the north east gets its fair share of central government spending?
| % | |
|---|---|
| Strongly agree | 7 |
| Tend to agree | 14 |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 15 |
| Tend to disagree | 23 |
| Strongly disagree | 31 |
| Don't know | 10 |
Respondents also respond negatively when asked about existing regional assemblies, with over a third (36%) agreeing that they don't do a worthwhile job and more than two thirds (67%) who say they don't feel well informed about what the North East Assembly does.
Q3 Please tell me how much you agree or disagree with each of the following statements about the North East Assembly.
| Strongly agree | Tend to agree | Neither / nor | Tend to disagree | Strongly disagree | Don't know | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| I feel well informed about what the Assembly does | 5 | 8 | 12 | 23 | 44 | 7 |
| The Assembly doesn't do a worthwhile job and should be scrapped | 21 | 15 | 26 | 12 | 10 | 15 |
Attitudes are more positive towards elected mayors, with half of respondents agreeing that their town or city would benefit from having a mayor similar to those which already exist in towns like Middlesbrough and Hartlepool.
Q4 Middlesbrough has an elected mayor called Ray Mallon. Some other towns like Hartlepool also have high profile mayors with more power than the traditional council leader. To what extent do you agree or disagree that your town or city would benefit from having a mayor?
| % | |
|---|---|
| Strongly agree | 29 |
| Tend to agree | 21 |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 16 |
| Tend to disagree | 13 |
| Strongly disagree | 15 |
| Don't know | 6 |
Download the topline findings in full pdf, 58KB
Technical details
A quota sample of 750 adults aged 18+ was interviewed using randomly generated telephone numbers across the North East Government Office Region. Interviews were conducted by telephone between 4-22 October 2006 and data are weighted by gender, age, area and work status to match the profile of the population.
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