Geordonia: the promised land?

In advance of the next week's vote on devolution, Wednesday's Guardian featured this piece asking the question, "Who does the 'Geordie nation' think it is?"

Though the article contained some points of interest - most notably the fact that despite having a shared regional and cultural identity, North-Easterners do not have any real sense of a common political identity, and thus it is by no means a foregone conclusion that the outcome of the referendum will be in favour of devolution.

However, to me it seemed handicapped by a lack of real research - surely they could have canvassed the opinions of more than just one "expert"? We could have done without the nostalgic dribblings of Tim Healy, too - Newcastle, like the rest of the region, is a modern and vibrant place to live and work, something which his sepia-tinted warblings gloss over.

Currently, just as is the case with the rather larger poll across the pond, it's too tight to call. A vote in favour of devolution may mark the first stage in the foundation of a separate nation state - Geordonia, anyone? We've already got our own language...