THIS week marked 20 years since Wales voted to set up a devolved Welsh Assembly.

The vote on September 18, 1997, saw voters back devolution by a tiny margin, with 50.3 per cent voting in favour of the proposal, compared to 49.7 per cent who opposed it.

The Vale of Glamorgan was one of the most opposed regions to devolution in the whole of Wales, second only to Monmouthshire, with 64.5 per cent of voters rejecting the proposals.

But an overwhelming 'Yes' vote in Carmarthenshire, the last region to declare, ensured that limited political powers would be devolved to Wales from the UK government.

Stephen Doughty MP for Cardiff South and Penarth said: "Having grown up with devolution, and always having been a supporter of power being exercised at different levels where it can most make a difference, it is fantastic to see Welsh devolution having reached this important milestone.

"I am proud Vaughan Gething and I have a close working relationship and regularly discuss how our different roles in Wales and Westminster can help deliver better outcomes for people in Penarth, Cardiff and the Vale.

"I believe Wales and Britain have been strengthened by devolution, but there is a risk we are now fragmenting into too many different systems without clear mechanisms to resolve disputes, and this has been thrown into stark relief by the chaotic approach to Brexit being pushed by the hard-right Tories driving the process.

"We need to create a lasting devolution settlement, rather than semi-annual changes in the law and continual attempts by some in the UK Government to undermine Welsh powers, including through the Brexit process. And, at the same time some in Wales suggesting that we should immediately devolve further powers in areas where a clear case has not been made yet.

"I agree with Carwyn Jones that we need a constitutional convention that could lead to a written constitution and a proper federal system in the UK to deliver a strong, united, but differentiated union that can stand the test of time."

Andrew RT Davies, South Wales Central AM and leader of the Welsh Conservatives said: "Right up until the last vote was counted in Carmarthenshire, pro-devolution campaigners, those who voted yes, took it in turn giving glum-faced interviews to journalists about why their campaign had fallen short - much as Nigel Farage had done just hours before the EU referendum result when he famously remarked 'It looks like Remain will edge it'"

"To the surprise of a nation, Carmarthenshire’s 50,000 votes in favour proved enough to carry the vote. "The news sent ‘Yes’ voters into the same fits of elation as those enjoyed by ‘Leave’ campaigners nearly two decades later.

"It must have been a particularly sweet turn of events for those who had first campaigned for devolution in 1979, when just 12 per cent of the Welsh electorate voted in favour of an Assembly.

"For those backing ‘Just Say No’ - then the official campaign in opposition of devolution - many prominent Conservatives, along with a few dissident Labourites, found themselves on the wrong side of history but thankfully things didn’t long stay that way.

"In the years that followed, the Conservatives have done more than any party in government at Westminster to advance devolution.

"With the passing of two Wales Acts, the Senedd has tax-raising powers plus law-making powers in over 20 areas of public life.

"Other advances by the Conservative government include the signing of two multimillion pound city deals, the scrapping of Severn Bridge tolls, significant progress on a North Wales Growth Deal and the establishment of Europe’s first major cluster of compound semiconductor firms."