Spoiler alert. Labour won the most seats at the first assembly election in 1999.

And you probably know Labour have had the most assembly or Senedd seats in all the Welsh elections since devolution.

In fact, now the Welsh Labour government is the longest standing administration in the UK.

But in '99, especially just two years after Tony Blair's New Labour landslide general election triumph, Labour was expected to do much better and gain overall assembly control.

However, it got a bloody nose from Plaid Cymru shocking political commentators by winning seats in Labour strongholds like Islwyn, Rhondda and Llanelli.

It all started going wrong for Labour with the Ron Davies scandal and the man who was going to be Wales' first first minister - or secretary as it was back then - quitting after a "moment of madness" on Clapham Common.

Image source, PA Media

Many felt Blair then imposed Alun Michael to lead Welsh Labour when the grassroots wanted Rhodri Morgan, who later did become leader.

"You cannot spend over a year wrangling inside the party fighting a bitter leadership and expect to just sail in," Peter - now Lord - Hain said at the time. "There are serious lessons for Labour here."

Plaid capitalised and mobilised its vote, crashing Labour's 1999 party - and Labour has usually had to rely on votes of members from other parties to govern ever since 1999 - with the exception of a short period in the early 2000s.

Ok everyone, back on your rollerblades to 1999 please.

So by early afternoon on election count day 25 years ago, Plaid Cymru scored a Labour stronghold hat-trick in the famous rugby town of Llanelli on the Welsh Assembly's first election day.

Helen Mary Jones became the first non-Labour politician returned in the area since 1922 as she edged Labour's Ann Gerrard by a narrow 688 vote majority - after a recount.

It further reinforced Plaid's strong debut performance in the Welsh Assembly election - especially in old Labour heartlands.

Labour still dominated constituency seats numbers - as future Welsh Labour leader Rhodri Morgan eased in while they also narrowly beat Welsh Tory leader Rod Richards in Clwyd West. But they didn't romp to victory as they'd hoped.

Legendary election analyst Peter Snow called the "amazing and dramatic" overall vote swing to Plaid compared to the 1997 UK General Election.

So by Labour by early afternoon that they were going to be short of an overall majority in the first Welsh Assembly.

It isn't just Welsh democracy that has changed since devolution, the area where the Senedd calls home has been transformed.

That area of Cardiff once famously known as Tiger Bay has been redeveloped and now doesn't just boast the £60m Senedd building, but the Wales Millennium Centre arts venue, a five-star hotel, a waterfront restaurant and bar quarter and a relocated 19th Century Norwegian Church.

It's all centred around the Grade I listed 19th Century Pierhead Building, the old headquarters for the Bute Dock Company which helped make Cardiff docks world famous.

The regeneration was started in 1987 by the UK Government and helped by Welsh powerbrokers moving to Cardiff bay after devolution in 1999.

In fact, politicians were quids in back in 1998 Wales when the then Welsh Secretary Ron Davies bought that part of the bay where the Senedd was to be built for £1.

The shot of Davies paying Grosvenor Waterside representative Alan Davies a pound for a 150-year lease for that prime spot on the waterfront was shown live on the BBC Wales' evening news.

Jason Mohammad
Presenter, BBC Radio Wales Phone-In

Rhys from Swansea has called my Radio Wales Phone-In this lunchtime to give me his thoughts on Welsh devolution 25 years on.

He works in the NHS and is 20 so has only ever known a devolved Wales.

"I am absolutely pro-devolution," he told me.

He points to the "groundbreaking" things that the Welsh government has been able to do, like free school meals, free prescriptions and opt-in organ donation.

"If we didn't have devolution, we wouldn't have been able to forge out own path," Rhys added.

Gareth Lewis
Political Editor, BBC Wales

Image source, Getty Images

Now let's go through some of the biggest headline-grabbing policies made in Senedd or Welsh Assembly since devolution in 1999.

Let's start with the latest - and probably the one that has captured people's attention the most - and that's lowering the speed limit from 30mph to 20mph on residential roads.

Such was - or is - the controversy, the government under new First Minister Vaughan Gething has now promised changes because of the backlash.

And remember there was no masking the controversy around some of Wales' Covid regulations during the pandemic as, on the whole, they tended to be stricter than those in neighbouring England.

The Senedd will, however, argue that over the past 25 years it helped deliver some pioneering, agenda-setting legislation for such a young legislative body.

For example, it was the first UK nation to:

• Introduce a minimum 5p charge on single-use carrier bags
• Force food outlets to prominently display food hygiene inspection ratings
• Introduce presumed consent on organ donations
• Introduce free prescriptions for all
• Introduce free parking at hospitals
• Bring in universal free school meals for all primary age children.

But the Welsh government's plans to restrict what is sold in meal deals has not gone down well - probably highlighting why politicians usually avoid getting their teeth into voters' diets.

Ministers want meal deals with a high fat, sugar or salt content to be restricted under plans to tackle obesity and diabetes.

For more on the times Welsh policies have hit the headlines, read my piece here.

Lowri Lewis
BBC News

Ok, if you're wondering what is devolution and which decisions are made in Wales, you're in the right place.

So, for many years England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland were run by the UK government, based in Westminster in London.

But in a process called devolution, some powers were passed from Westminster to elected bodies in Cardiff, Belfast and Edinburgh.

The UK government remains responsible for policy for England and overall policy in a number of areas, like defence and national security, foreign policy, immigration, citizenship and tax - though Scotland has its own powers to raise and lower income tax.

In Wales, the Senedd's responsibilities include:

• Agriculture, forestry and fishing
• Education
• Environment
• Health and social care
• Housing
• Local government
• Highways and transport
• Some control over income tax, stamp duty and landfill tax
• Welsh language

For more, check out this more detailed explainer.

While some callers have told Jason Mohammad on Radio Wales that they aren't fans of devolution, Joseph Walliker disagrees.

Joseph wasn't even born when the Senedd arrived in 1999, but the 23-year-old from Chepstow says: “I do vote in Senedd elections, as I see the Senedd as the primary voice for Wales in UK politics.

“Devolution has helped me in becoming more confident using Welsh as a language through the roll-out of Welsh in the school curriculum, and encourages me that politics can be done differently compared to Westminster.

“What would I like to see in the next 25 years?

"To see devolution across the UK protected in a federal framework, to see voter turnout increase in Senedd elections, and to see the proposal for 96 Senedd members implemented in such a way that legislation is scrutinised effectively by the Senedd, and the Welsh government held to account.”

Jason Mohammad
Presenter, BBC Radio Wales Phone-In

I'm chatting to people about what Welsh devolution has done for them on my Radio Wales Phone-In show this lunchtime.

Marilyn from Brecon told me the Welsh Parliament has been “a complete waste of money” and “the most damaging thing that happened to Wales”.

She adds there was always a representative speaking for Wales for Westminster and “they knew how to spend their money”.

“Wales has become such a poorer country since devolution,” she tells my Radio Wales Phone-In.

I also spoke to Paul from Overton-on-Dee and he told me the past 25 years of devolution have been both “bad and ugly”.

He says “more accountability” was sold to Wales during the referendum.

“All it’s given us is another tier of politicians who have failed to deliver for Wales," Paul said. “Devolution has failed the people of Wales.”

Right then, put back on your Walkman, turn on B*Witched and hop in your time machine back to this day in 1999 - and that first assembly election.

Proving that winning in the formerly safe Labour seat of Iswlyn wasn't a fluke, Plaid Cymru gave Labour a lunchtime buy one get one free on shock defeats as the nationalists won in the Rhondda.

Considered one of Labour’s safest Welsh Westminster seats in their south Wales valleys heartland, Plaid's Geraint Davies beat prominent MEP Wayne David with a 2,000-plus majority.

BBC Wales' then political editor Glyn Mathias called Plaid's Rhondda win "quite staggering and historic".

The result came minutes after Plaid's president Dafydd Wigley had comfortably secured his safe seat of Caernarfon with the biggest majority in the 1999 election - more than 12,000.

But wins in the Rhondda and Islwyn showed Plaid was starting to break out of its Welsh-speaking heartlands in the west and north - although the party never managed to sustain it in years to come.

BBC Radio Wales

That’s what today’s Radio Wales Phone In is asking listeners across the nation.

Caller Mary in Newport tells presenter Jason Mohammad that she supports devolution, for her it's a case of national identity and she also supports free prescriptions.

“I’ve seen an amazing increase in the idea of being Welsh, of having a Welsh identity. It’s made us much more aware of being a nation," she says.

But John in Llandaff disagrees - he says the Senedd is costing too much.

He definitely doesn't want more politicians in Cardiff Bay and says we don’t need a Welsh government to feel proud to be Welsh.

“When you stand up and sing that national anthem you’re Welsh through and through – it’s like Blackpool rock,” he tells Jason.

Nick Servini
Presenter, BBC Wales Today

Devolution was back on the political agenda by the late 1990s as Tony Blair's new Labour promised to have devolution referendums for Wales and Scotland in their 1997 general election manifesto.

Labour won that election by a landslide but many in Blair's party objected to the thought of devolution but the former prime minister insisted he "steamrollered" it through.

"There were real worries about it," he said.

"There were people in the Welsh Labour party, and outside of the Welsh Labour party that came to me and said 'this is a very dangerous thing that you are embarking upon'.

"To be honest, I am not sure I persuaded them. In the end we steamrollered it.

"We were a new government and I was convinced that in the end if we didn't do it, if we betrayed our commitment to devolution, and it was a party manifesto commitment, we were going to have a huge problem on the other side of the debate."

Vaughan Roderick
BBC Welsh affairs editor

Image source, Getty Images

While we're today marking 25 years since Wales returned its first politicians to its own assembly, it was by no means the first shot they had at going it alone.

There was an overwhelming No vote in the 1979 devolution referendum which was as much a judgement on an unpopular Labour government at the time as it was on the proposals themselves.

Holding a referendum at the tail end of a government is a recipe for failure, but with Jim Callaghan’s government dependent on Plaid Cymru and Scottish National Party votes to survive, the then prime minister felt he had little choice but to press ahead and put the plans to the voters.

Even so, the rejection of the plans was so overwhelming that few expected the idea of a devolved assembly to be revived, at least in the short to medium term.

In fact it took almost 20 years for the pro-devolution forces to re-group and overturn the referendum result.

As with many other Welsh political developments, the catalyst was the 1984-85 miners’ strike.

It was at a meeting in Merthyr Tydfil convened by the National Union of Mineworkers and other supportive unions that a new campaign for an assembly was launched and over the following years it worked hard to win over sceptical politicians – particularly in Labour ranks.

As a result Labour was united over devolution in 1997 in a way it hadn’t been in 1979. With the referendum held in Tony Blair’s New Labour honeymoon period, solid Yes votes in Labour’s industrial heartlands were sufficient to carry the plans over the line.

What has devolution done for you? Has it helped ? Has it not Has it gone too far? Or has it not gone far enough?

You can get in touch in the following ways:

• Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk, external
• WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803
• Upload your pictures and video
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• Please read our terms & conditions and privacy policy

In some cases a selection of your comments and questions will be published, displaying your name and location as you provide it unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published.

Jason Mohammad
Presenter, BBC Radio Wales Phone-In

Today our programme is devoted to a debate about devolution.

We've had our own government in Wales for 25 years - but what do you think devolution has done for Wales?

How have the decisions made in Cardiff Bay over the last quarter a century affected you, your community and your country?

What stands out? From free prescriptions to votes at 16, laws about smacking and smoking, to planes, trains and automobiles. Please have your say

Image source, Peter Williams

We previously heard from Nigel in Wrexham, who strongly regrets voting Yes to the Senedd, but Peter Williams has been in touch and feels very different

“I'm immensely proud that Wales has a Senedd and the power, albeit limited, to make decisions for the people of Wales at a time when Wales’ voice in Westminster is set to further diminish," says the 63-year-old from Monmouth.

“Wales continues to be an afterthought and any Conservative government is per se going to be unsympathetic and adversarial to our Senedd.

“We need more powers in Wales to tackle complex issues like poverty, transport and the NHS which are hugely influenced by UK policy.

“A main concern for me is the lack of understanding that people in Wales have of devolution and how their perception of the work and value of the Senedd is hugely influenced by the largely ignorant, indifferent or outright hostile UK press.

“We need a more independent media in Wales to give a more balanced, accurate and informative coverage of devolution.

“Given the context, Welsh devolution has made good progress over 25 years. How many centuries has Westminster had to create the mess that UK governance finds itself in?”

Staying in 1999 for a while (but with wi-fi and smartphones)....

The first tangible sign to highlight that Plaid Cymru were going to have a good first assembly election was when they took a seat smack bang in the middle of Labour's valley heartlands.

Islwyn was the parliamentary constituency of former Labour leader Neil Kinnock and it had never not been red - but just before lunchtime on 7 May, 1999 Plaid made a statement.

Brain Hancock edged Labour's candidate Shane Williams (no, not the former Welsh rugby legend) by a small 604 majority to represent the seat in the former mining area.

Plaid leapt from fourth in Islwyn in the 1997 UK Parliament general election to take the assembly seat two years later - a 35% rise in its vote and an almost 35% drop in the Labour one.

As Plaid secured its first seat, so did the Conservatives as David Davies took Monmouth - a border area that heavily voted No in the 1997 devolution referendum. Davies ended up being the Tory's only constituency assembly member in 1999 - and 23 years later was in Rishi Sunak's cabinet as Welsh secretary.

Image source, PA Media

Ron Davies called it his "moment of madness" and admitted a "serious lapse of judgement" following an incident near Clapham Common when he met a stranger and was later robbed at knifepoint after agreeing to go for a meal.

The people of Wales had narrowly voted 'Yes' to devolution in 1997 and Davies was set to become the new Welsh Assembly's first first secretary until this scandal in October 1998.

Davies had only beaten Rhodri Morgan to become Labour's candidate for first secretary of the assembly the month before Davies became the first member of Tony Blair's Cabinet to resign.

Davies had been called the architect of Welsh devolution after helping steer The Government of Wales Act through parliament and get it royal assent, with the new assembly to be established after an election in May 1999.

Davies, who had been Caerphilly's MP since 1983, did serve four years in the new assembly before standing down at the 2003 election.

Image source, Getty Images

Right, time to turn the clock back to 1999.

Britney Spears' Hit Me Baby One More Time was on your minidisc player, The Matrix was in the cinemas, Manchester United were talking trebles and Wales was electing its first assembly members.

He was all set to be Wales' first first minister until his "moment of madness" on Clapham Common but ironically Ron Davies was the first elected to Wales' new assembly.

The declaration in Caerphilly just after 11:00 on 7 May 1999 saw the UK Government's former Welsh secretary, who resigned after the well-publicised scandal, become a Welsh assembly member as well as the area's MP.

Despite Davies's win in a safe Labour heartland, there was a huge swing to Plaid Cymru - a sign of things to come in the new assembly's first election.

Davies, described as the architect of Welsh devolution, showed emotion during his victory speech when he was joined on stage by his wife and daughter and thanked his fellow candidates for a "clean campaign".

We'd love to hear your views on devolution. Do you bother voting in Welsh Parliament elections, or do you think it's important to use it to have your say?

Has devolution helped you and Wales or not?

You can get in touch like Nigel in the previous post did - and contact us in the following ways:

• Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk, external
• WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803
• Upload your pictures and video
• Tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSay, external
• Please read our terms & conditions and privacy policy

In some cases a selection of your comments and questions will be published, displaying your name and location as you provide it unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published.

Nigel Jones has been in touch to say backing Welsh devolution was the 'worst vote' he has ever cast.

“I voted for devolution, the thought of decisions being made locally, and not far away in out-of-touch Westminster was my wish," said the 62-year-old from Wrexham.

“However, it is without doubt the worst vote I have ever cast.

“Twenty-five years of devolution (one party state) has destroyed north east Wales. Almost every public service is worse now than when run by Westminster (education, health, police etc).

“I now feel further away from the decision-makers than ever and despair at the total lack of any quality politicians here in Wales.

“If the vote was tomorrow I would vote 'No' because it just hasn't worked.”