Final First Minister's Questions

The final First Minister's Questions of this assembly term lulled me into a false sense of security.

There I was thinking it was turning into a big love-in after Andrew RT Davies and Carwyn Jones were in danger of agreeing with each other on the need for an M4 relief road and the sterling work carried out by retiring assembly members, when Leanne Wood stepped into the fray.

She'd clearly established that this wasn't the time for sentimentality and hit the first minister with a triple whammy by accusing him of five years' worth of evasion, failing to answer questions and a lack of engagement. Ouch.

It was a sharp reminder that we're about to enter an election campaign.

And it was also clear that economic development will play a big part in Labour's campaign, with Aston Martin not only being mentioned twice but a claim that there'll be more jobs announcements in the coming weeks.

National committee

Carwyn Jones then attacked Plaid, claiming their policies usually involve the creation of a "national committee of some kind".

Now that the sentimental spell had been broken, Kirsty Williams followed in kind by criticising Labour's record on access to GPs, child poverty and education standards.

Much of it was standard pre-election fare but there was an interesting tone from Carwyn Jones on proposals for the M4 relief road.

He said: "We wish to see the M4 relief road being built. It's true to say that our preferred route is the black route but of course we are willing to examine other options should they prove feasible."

That doesn't sound to me like a man who's preparing to go to battle on the so-called black route and is a marked difference in tone to that used by the outgoing economy minister Edwina Hart.

There are two proposals.

Black and blue

The black route is a new six lane motorway to the south of Newport, while the much cheaper blue route is an upgrade of an existing southern distributor road which would involve removing the roundabouts in what is largely a dual carriageway.

There have been a number of recent developments in relation to the M4.

Last week it emerged that the black route is after all going to cost £1.1bn, despite Carwyn Jones saying it was going to come in way below that figure.

Leanne Wood also told me in an interview at the Plaid spring conference in Llanelli that she would refuse to consider any kind of deal with Labour, whether a formal coalition or an informal arrangement, so long as it was considering an investment of £1bn on the black route.

The Conservatives have given us their pre-election position, which is not to have a position on whether it should be the blue or the black route. Instead they made a commitment to have diggers in the ground within a year.

What's fascinating about the M4 relief road is that it stands in stark contrast to the metro rail scheme, which will form part of the new Cardiff city deal.

The metro, to improve bus and train services in south east Wales, is supported by virtually everyone while the M4 relief road is one of the most divisive subjects in Welsh politics.