ONCE again the contentious issue of regional assemblies has raised its ugly head with Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott announcing plans to hold a referendum in three areas.

Residents of Yorkshire and the Humber, the North West and the North-East will be quizzed next year on whether a regional Parliament would be desirable or not.

In Yorkshire, the issue of home rule is never far from the surface of traditional visceral chauvinism but apart from satisfying the cravings of die-hard professional Tykes, would there really be a benefit to be gained from adding to the vast clouds of hot air already generated by politicians, both local and national? Some think not but many people are enthusiastic.

Conveniently, the attitude towards regional assemblies often splits along party lines with Conservative politicians seeing them as an expensive and unnecessary increase in bureaucracy, whereas Labour politicians champion the extra democracy they are supposed to bestow.

Whatever the merits of the argument, it may be illuminating to ask some of those who can best remember when West Yorkshire had its own version of a regional assembly, albeit for a very brief period around 20 years ago.

The Local Government Act of 1972 which heralded a major reorganisation of town and county halls included the establishment of the Greater London Council (GLC) and six other metropolitan county councils.

The provision of the Act recognised the special needs of major centres of population mainly in the north of England by introducing two-tier metropolitan style government.

The West Midlands, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear metropolitan county councils were established and elections held.

Almost by accident, along with Ken Livingstone's GLC, the Labour-controlled metropolitan county councils soon found themselves at the forefront of opposition to the Thatcher Government elected in 1979 and the political revolution she was trying to achieve.

The metropolitan councils opposed Tory policies wherever they could transforming themselves into the bte noires of Thatcherite rule.

Particularly contentious were the setting up of 'Nuclear Free' zones around the regions and open support for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament which threatened to sour Mrs Thatcher's relationship with Ronald Reagan and the policy of siting cruise missiles in British military bases.

While much productive work on a regional level in transport, consumer protection, planning, fire service and police went on unsung, metropolitan county councils found themselves branded as enclaves of the so-called 'Loony Left'.

While this was particularly true of Merseyside and Manchester, West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council, based at County Hall, Wakefield, did not acquire a similar reputation.

However, the writing was on the wall for all six bodies in the form of the Conservative Party's 1983 General Election manifesto. It included a commitment to abolish the six metropolitan county councils as well as the Greater London Council. The manifesto suggests that these local authorities were a 'wasteful and unnecessary tier of government.' With one-fifth of national public expenditure going on local government, Mrs Thatcher was determined to save money at the same time as silence her most vociferous critics.

The manifesto promised to abolish the metropolitan county authorities and return most of their functions to the boroughs and districts within them, with those services needing to be administered over a wider area, such as police, transport and fire, being run by joint boards.

The metropolitan county councils survived until March 31, 1986. Nowadays, regional services such as police, fire, transport, trading standards, archaeology, civil defence and others are run by joint boards.

In West Yorkshire, the people on the boards are councillors nominated from the five West Yorkshire councils, Bradford, Leeds, Wakefield, Calderdale and Kirklees.

Ilkley Labour MP Ann Cryer thinks that the politicians running vital county wide services should be elected for that purpose, not nominated from other authorities.

She thinks that establishing a regional assembly

for Yorkshire and the Humber would make up the

what she sees as democratic deficit left by the abolition of the West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council. "My view is that a regional assembly could only do good for Yorkshire," said Mrs Cryer. Aireborough MP Paul Truswell, a little more cautiously said: "The idea of the people of Yorkshire having more direct and democratic influence over key regional services has a lot to commend it in principle.

"But we have to be persuaded that in practice it would not create an expensive further tier of bureaucracy. Decisions about huge amounts of Yorkshire services and spending are currently taken by many bodies appointed and controlled by Whitehall. These include the Government Office, parts of the NHS, the Regional Development Agency, and the Learning and Skills Council.

"They all intimately affect our communities on issues of health care, transport, planning, investment, jobs and education.

"Putting such bodies under an assembly elected by the people of Yorkshire is an attractive proposition - but only if it leads to accountable and efficient government that reflects Yorkshire's needs and priorities more effectively than the present system."

Otley Mayor councillor Nigel Francis said: "I wouldn't say I am for or against it. It is just another level of bureaucracy. Until someone convinces me, I believe it would weaken the power of Leeds City Council. When they put an extra tier on we have to see exactly what it is going to do, maybe control highways or schools.

"It is just an extra tier and they might as well say dissolve Parliament. I wouldn't think it would be beneficial to the people.

"They will be paying for it through tax."

Leader of Leeds City Council Conservatives, Councillor Andrew Carter said: "The proposal to hold a referendum is a waste of time, effort and money and a direct threat to the traditional functions of local government.

"This is a referendum that nobody in Yorkshire has either asked for or indeed wanted. The consultation exercise carried out by the Government over the last few months resulted in just 833 people and organisations expressing a desire for a referendum out of a population of five million. This figure is derisory and an embarrassment."

Representing Ilkley, Burley-in-Wharfedale and Menston, for two years at County Hall, Wakefield, was Ernest Gardner. Despite being a Conservative, Mr Gardner said he worked very closely with Labour members on an appeals tribunal and in other areas.

He considers that the latest plans for a regional assembly announced by the Deputy Prime Minister will not enhance local democracy.

"I think it is just empire building by John Prescott. There is no public demand for this - it is just another layer of government," said Mr Gardner, of King's Road.

He said that he would not like to see the re-establishment of the West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council. "We abolished it years ago and have done very well without it," said Mr Gardner.

And he was equally convinced that setting up any other form of regional assembly would be a huge mistake.

It seems that the only conclusion to be drawn is that no matter what kind of regional assemblies are created, the waste of money and loss of democracy stem more from politically motivated tinkering with the system than efforts to make service delivery at local and regional level work for us all.