3. An Assembly will have no real powers.

An elected Assembly will have no power over health, education and law and order and would therefore not be able to create a single extra nurse, doctor, teacher or police officer.

It would have no power over transport, and would therefore not have the ability to dual the A1 for which many people in the region have campaigned for years.

The Assembly will be able to produce 'strategies' and have 'initiatives' and 'have influence'. However, it will not have the power required to implement and deliver these strategies and this will result in the assembly simply becoming a talking shop producing nothing but hot air and rhetoric…and lots of nice glossy brochures all at our expense.