Summary

  • 25 years ago today Wales returned its first assembly members - almost two years after the people of Wales narrowly voted 'yes' to devolution

  • Some powers were passed from Westminster to the National Assembly for Wales, which is now called the Senedd

  • Cardiff Bay had control over health, education and economic development but didn't have full law-making powers until another referendum in 2011

  • Tax-raising powers, including a slice of your income tax, started arriving in 2018

  • Labour has led the government in Wales since 1999 and helped by various coalitions and agreements with Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats

  • Former First Minister Mark Drakeford said the way to combat low voter turnout in Welsh elections is compulsory voting

  • Wales' current leader Vaughan Gething warns in 25th anniversary address that devolution "remains fragile"

Live Reporting

Edited by Peter Shuttleworth

  1. When was Welsh devolution - and how did it happen?

    People in Wales celebrate devolutionGetty Images

    More than 1.1m people in Wales voted in the devolution referendum and 50.3% agreed to bring some powers closer to home

    Just as a quick reminder, it may be 25 years today since Wales returned its first politicians so Wales could start to govern itself - but for that to happen the people of Wales had to say they wanted it.

    They did. Only just though. By the narrowest of margins - so tight that the BBC almost called it wrong.

    There were only 6,721 votes in it but the yes campaign won the 1997 referendum despite some of Wales' biggest centres like Cardiff, Newport and Wrexham voting no.

    While 50.3% of those that voted saying they wanted devolution, just 559,419 of Wales' registered voters actually voted yes - that's because the referendum turnout was only just over half of the electorate.

    So from a total of more than 2.2m of those eligible to poll in 1997, less than 30% of those registered to vote said yes.

    But it was enough to secure Welsh devolution and do what Wales had overwhelmingly rejected 18 years earlier by a four-to-one majority in the 1979 referendum.

    And when devolution was put back on the political table by Tony Blair's new Labour after their 1997 general election manifesto promise, Wales took its second chance. Just.

    Politicians in Wales celebrate devolution

  2. What has Welsh devolution done for you?

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

    You can get in touch in the following ways:

    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.

  3. Welcome to our live coverage of Welsh devolution at 25

    The Queen opened the newly created Welsh Assembly in Cardiff in May 1999

    It's 25 years today when the people of Wales elected the first members of the their first National Assembly of Wales.

    Almost two years after voting for self-governance by the narrowest or margins, it was 7 May in 1999 when it all became real and Wales returned their first politicians to the newly created administration in Cardiff Bay.

    Today we'll briefly recap on a historic day for Wales, analyse how devolution has impacted the everyday lives of people in Wales and what it's meant for the UK as a whole.