This book provides the only available historical account and comprehensive assessment of the factors surrounding the 2004 referendum on an elected assembly in the North-East region of England.

The referendum delivered a ‘no’ vote of considerable magnitude and called a halt to the programme of gradual reform being pushed through by the Labour government. This book examines the campaigns around and the lead-up to the referendum, and offers in-depth analysis of the result, plus explorations of future options available to policy-makers around the sub-national governance of England (a key aspect of the ‘English Question’). Crucially, the book contains chapters from scholars who carried out cutting-edge research at the time of the referendum and are thus in a unique position to contribute authoritatively to the historical understanding of these events.

This volume will be of great benefit to students and researchers in Regional Studies, Local Government Studies and Constitutional Studies.