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Senior Labour figures back council leaders' defiance of Government over mayor rule; Andy Burnham and Tom Watson say the North East Combined Authority is right to hold out after Labour and Lib Dems defeat Government in Lords.

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Byline: Rachel Wearmouth

A blow to the Government's devolution bill has buoyed Labour campaigners hoping to block ministers' plans to install an all-powerful North East mayor.

Lib Dems and Labour joined forces to defeat Tories in the House of Lords for an amendment to the section stipulates new powers and funding will only be handed to regions if they agree to a directly-elected mayor.

While the bill is still likely to go through the House of Commons unchanged, the move could see the legislation significantly delayed as peers wrangle with parliamentary colleagues over the small print.

It comes as the North East Combined Authority calls for people to be consulted on mayors as they bid for a devolution deal with Government for the region.

Despite talks being underway, Chancellor George Osborne omitted the North East from a list of areas it was negotiating with during his Budget speech.

Local leaders want to resist the mayor, saying no one-size-fits-all structure should be forced on a region that comprises the cities of Sunderland and Newcastle as well as the rural counties of Durham and Northumberland.

Today, their defiance of the Government is backed by Andy Burnham and Tom Watson, the bookies' favourites to be Labour's leader and deputy leader.

"Devolution with a gun to your head is no devolution at all," said shadow health secretary Mr Burnham.

"Devolution has got to come from the bottom up if it is to work. People know their communities better than George Osborne. They know the partnerships and the culture.

"To me, devolution only works if you have respect for what people are asking for, it has to go from the bottom up not the top down.

"A single mayor for the whole of the North East is problematic, not least because it puts too much power in the hands of one person.

"I think they shouldn't have to go with a begging bowl to Government. If the Government is committed to it they should go with what devolution really means...

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