Scotland's first minister Jack McConnell will visit the North East next Monday, to support the campaign for a regional assembly.

The move comes despite an admission from the local "yes" campaign that the Scottish parliament and cost overruns on the new Holyrood building are "our Achilles' heel".

The "no" campaign welcomed the move. "Bring the guy down from the most expensive building in the country," said spokesman Neil Herron.

"The people of the North East realise John Prescott's folly and that a regional assembly would be nothing more than an expensive talking shop. If the Scottish example is anything to go by, then it is going to be kicked into the long grass."

Meanwhile, Darlington Borough Council has admitted sending charity gift aid documents to voters in the region, rather than envelopes to return their ballot papers.

Concern over the all-postal election grew as it emerged yesterday that ahead of the November 4 deadline next week, just 230,000 of 1.9 million voters have cast their ballot so far.