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The Assembly gives more powers an unanimous thumbs up

For months now we have been covering the background arguments from those making the case for more powers while also giving True Wales an honest platform. Over the same period we’ve also covered the wranglings over the tabling of the motion, and the stand offs over the timing of the vote.

But what happens next? If the Government of Wales Act was part one of this process, then the All Wales Convention can be seen as part two, then today’s vote saw the conclusion of part three. The matter now passes, in letter form, from the First Minister to the Secretary of State for Wales. It will be for them to lay the trigger vote in the Commons, which is the next stage. And what will Peter Hain do? Or Cheryl Gillan? Or whoever holds that post in one hundred and twenty days time – if the post still exists…?

Because there’s a great big General Election in the middle of this process and it’ll probably make moving from part three to part four as difficult a task as the referendum to move from Part Three to Part Four of the Government of Wales Act. (That was probably the most contrived thing I’ve ever written on this site, but the brain is a bit frazzled…)

But, as Alun Davies said so effectively this morning, the next 88 days are where the the real political action now lies, not the 120 that a Secretary of State for Wales has. The issue has now been parked for three months. That isn’t to deny there isn’t critical preparatory work to be done, but for most politically minded people the focus will be elsewhere. Their main objectives will be slugging it out for seats in the General Election.

The most committed of the Yes campaign should not despair at this. The same thing happened back in 1997. It takes time to build political platforms, and time for politicos to get through and over General Elections too and re-find their campaigning zeal. Use the interim to think and plan. Your opponents will be.