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THERE may be key facts or nuances that I have missed, but here’s the speedy note which I just took of the on the statement made to the Assembly on the All Wales Convention. Excuse any errors, but this was done at frenetic pace…

The First Minister welcomed the All Wales Convention report and congratulated it on the work that had been done. He praised Sir Emyr Jones Parry and the Convention on the standard of the work  He stressed the nature of the complexity of the Government of Wales Act 2006 and the move from Part 3 to Part 4 and how this needed to be communicated in a meaningful way to the electorate. The report, he explained, was emphatic that a move from Part 3 to Part 4 was necessary; but that even though a Yes campaign could be won there was no guarantee that this would happen. He also stressed the importance of the question asked, and the preamble that would also be on the referendum ballot paper. This was critical in putting the issue in terms people would understand. He said the Welsh Assembly Government would bring forward a debate in the New Year on the outcomes of the Convention and asked that Members digest the report over Christmas. He also indicated that delivering on and winning the referendum pledge would be achievable in the life of this Assembly.

Nick Bourne AM (Con, Mid & West Wales) stressed the value of the report but said there were many questions to be answered around the timing of the campaign, as well as question to be asked and its funding. He said history would show his party had been on the right side of condemning the LCO process. He challenged the First Minister to distance himself from the Labour Party statement of lunchtime.

The First Minister said that certainty was not necessary before a referendum was put. He said that the Labour statement did not say the referendum would not be discussed before the General Election, but that he thought a Yes campaign would find it difficult to be started while the Election hadn’t been held. With regard to the question, he said it was not a matter for the Assembly, but for the Secretary of State for Wales on the advice and guidance of the Electoral Commission. The question would need legal certainty but would also need to be intelligible to the ordinary punters. The Electoral Commission would probably fund both the Yes and No campaigns to the tune of £100k each.

Helen Mary Jones (PC, Llanelli) also praised the Convention and the Establishing Committee which had proceeded it and which she had co-chaired. She said that the report was intelligible and that everyone accepted the Secretary of State would set the question. She said people would have time to digest the Report over Christmas, and welcomed the commitment to holding a debate in the Assembly in the New Year, by which time the “coalition partners” would be able to agree a way forward. She asked the First Minister to confirm there is nothing in the Labour Party press statement which rules out any of the timing options for a referendum: in particular, would the option of an Autumn 2010 referendum still be a possible.

The First Minister also praised the work of the Establishing Committee and said the phrasing of the campaign was critical. He also said change had happened through the Political Parties and Electoral Reform Act which now created a new, arms length process for the setting of a referendum question. On the matter of timing, the First Minister said the statement was not about “slowing down” process but was about the mechanics of moving the issue forward. He said that there were only a number of “windows available” to hold a referendum, and it was to provide clarity on this that Labour had made its statement this morning.

Kirsty Williams (LD, Brecon & Radnorshire) said the current situation should only increase a collective commitment to ensure that a referendum is carried. She said it would be the quality of debate and argument that would win the argument, and that those in support would need to work and connect like they never had before. She said the current situation had been created by the Government of Wales Act 2006. She said that the referendum should not be held in May 2011 or in the run up to the next Assembly election, and suggested instead that the referendum should instead be held in Autumn next year as “the optimum time” and called for a trigger vote in the Assembly on a referendum in January or February next year. She said that the timing of the referendum was a matter for more than just an issue for the Labour Party.

The First Minister said that Labour was always the party which had done the “heavy lifting” on devolution. He said he would be knocking doors next time, too. He welcomed the need to engage people from all parties and none to join with him in making the case for a Yes vote. He said that just because it was difficult to set a fair question, that could and would be done. With regard to timing, he said there were clear “windows” to stage a referendum before the end of the Assembly, but refused to be drawn on the particularities of an Autumn referendum. He said the Statement by Welsh Labour would in no way shut down debate on this issue.

Jeff Cuthbert AM (Lab, Caerphilly) said that with regard to the statement issued by Welsh Labour that it emphasised the party would be doing its utmost to reach and win a referendum and that opposition parties were just talking about a referendum to take Labour’s eye off the ball regarding the General Election.

The First Minister urged parties not to point score but to consider the Report over Christmas and to then come back to discuss the issue in the New Year.

Trish Law AM (Ind, Blaenau Gwent) outlined the constitutional hurdles needed before a referendum could be called, and illustrated the need for accessible information to create an informed electorate. She warned a yes vote could not be taken for granted and that a public relations exercise of the highest order was needed to persuade the public of the need for more powers, but affirmed her personal support for more powers.

The First Minister agreed that a full debate was needed and a communications campaign was needed. He said certainty to win wasn’t required to run a referendum, but that the right “mood music” was in place so that it could be an informed debate.

Nerys Evans AM (PC, Mid & West Wales) spoke as a former member of the Establishing Committee and also reflected on the complexities of the question which would be set. She asked how the referendum could be conducted based on facts rather than myths such as the moving from Part 3 to Part 4 would equate to Scottish style powers in Wales. She warned that faith in politicians and politics was running very low and that the debate for more powers needed to be placed in the context of moving between Parts on the basis of logic and efficiency. With regard to the Labour Party statement, she said that if the statement was taken at face value then Autumn 2010 would be ruled out and asked the First Minister to affirm that the Autumn 2010 was available.

The First Minister disputed her interpretation of the Labour statement and said that she should keep to the words in the statement. He agreed the Scottish comparison wasn’t appropriate because those powers were not available, but that the comparison was ineligible for the question itself.

Jenny Randerson AM (LD, Cardiff Central) felt today again indicated that there was a compromise being fashioned to suit Labour rather than move Labour forward. She said that winning a referendum needed a four party campaign rather than division and pointed to the Scottish example that saw all four parties coming together under a single banner, and also incorporating civil society.

The First Minister agreed that all parties and all parts of Wales would need to engage with a yes campaign, including east Wales which rejected devolution in 1997. He welcomed the addition of an “enormous slab” of the Conservative Party who would now be in the Yes campaign come the referendum and hoped people would work together to delivery a Yes vote.

Alun Davies AM (Lab, Mid & West Wales) said it was ironic that people were conveniently forgetting the role Labour had played in bringing devolution to this point. He said it would be impossible for Labour to fight an election in 2011 or write a manifesto without knowing which powers an Assembly had, and this was another reason a referendum should be held earlier.

The First Minister agreed manifestos had to be clear in terms of what was being asked. He said that all party political structures in determining policy were different and that they would need to attune to the powers available.

Dai Lloyd AM (PC, South Wales West) said Plaid Cymru had entered the One Wales government with a pledge to deliver on a referendum: and asked the First Minister to confirm that he had actually signed off the statement. He also warned that Plaid Cymru would not let Labour drag its feet on this issue.

The First Minister said of course had signed the statement off but did not accept that in any way it represented a delay. He said that it was up to all concerned to digest the content of the report over the Christmas recess.

My personal take on the Statement is thus: listen to Helen Mary Jones when she talks about the One Wales government agreeing common ground by the debate in the New Year. Focus on the stress Nerys Evans put on keeping an Autumn referendum option on the table. And note Dai Lloyd’s warning that Labour would not be allowed to drag its feet. As Rhodri says, lots to digest this Christmas.