MEMBERS of the UK Independence Party took part in a protest outside a meeting of the North West Regional Assembly in Wigan on Friday.

For those who are unaware, this is an unelected bureaucratic body which is financed to the tune of £2,500,000 by our taxes.

It is the illegitimate offspring of the EU Committee of the Regions' and, as if that were not bad enough, it falls under the control of Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.

Since its inception some six years ago this body has had most local authorities in the North West among its members, each paying £30,000 to £50,000 per year so that leading councillors can climb aboard yet another publicly funded gravy train.

As in the North East, we were promised a referendum on the future of this assembly last year but this was cancelled when Prescott knew he was in for a thrashing.

The North East referendum did take place and more than 70 per cent of people voted against it.

The reason we demonstrated against the NWRA on Friday last week was because it was in breach of its own constitution. Local councils must pay their subscription by September 30 to remain members of the NWRA but this year Lancaster City Council, and most of the other authorities, did not pay.

To rejoin councils must debate the issue and agree to the expenditure. This has not happened.

When quizzed on the legality of breaching its own constitution the chairman of the assembly claimed it could do so because it was effect-ively a private organisation'. A fine example of democracy in Blair's Britain.

A secretive group calls itself the North West Regional Assembly and claims more than £2,500,000 of taxpayers' money then, when it actions breach its own constitution it ignores it and claims to it to be a private organisation'.

Is it any wonder that politicians are held in such low esteem?

Gregg Beaman, UK Independence Party North West.