TODAY, Monday, marks 20 years since Wales voted to set up a devolved Welsh Assembly.

The vote on September 18, 1997, saw voters back devolution by a tiny margin, with 50.3 per cent voting in favour of the proposal, compared to 49.7 per cent who opposed it.

The Vale of Glamorgan was one of the most opposed regions to devolution in the whole of Wales, second only to Monmouthshire, with 64.5 per cent of voters rejecting the proposals.

But an overwhelming 'Yes' vote in Carmarthenshire, the last region to declare, ensured that limited political powers would be devolved to Wales from the UK government.

Reflecting on the landmark, Vale of Glamorgan MP Alun Cairns said: "Devolution in Wales has come a long way over the 20 years since the referendum.

"The Senedd is now an established part of our constitutional landscape, taking critical decisions on matters that affect everyday lives."

Laws passed in Wales since 1997 include being the first UK country to ban smoking inside public places and introducing a 'soft opt-out' system for organ donation. Wales was also the first country in the UK to charge for carrier bags in 2011.

South Wales AM and leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew RT Davies, said his party had played a key role in furthering Welsh self-governance since the referendum vote.

"As Conservatives we have not only embraced devolution – we have empowered it immeasurably," he said.

"At present in the Assembly, Welsh Conservatives are the official opposition, holding the second most seats after Labour – a prospect many in the traditionally socialist fortress of Wales might have thought unthinkable in ’97.

"I would venture that there is much that parties of the left today can learn from the Conservatives’ response to the referendum of 1997, which stands as a template of how to swallow your pride and work constructively for the greater good of a nation."

"Vale of Glamorgan AM Jane Hutt said: "I supported the 'Yes for Wales' campaign and was keen to help make the devolution of government meaningful to the people of Wales.

"Constituents say to me that they are glad to be living in Wales; at a local level the Welsh Government re-opened the Vale railway lines with new stations in St Athan and Llantwit Major. We saved Cardiff Airport and built new schools across the Vale.

"Nationally we have provided free bus passes, free prescriptions and free school breakfasts which help large numbers of people."

A survey by the Wales Governance Centre released on Monday has shown that while support for devolution has remained relatively constant since the result, 65 per cent of people felt it had made no difference to Wales and only 19 per cent believed it had improved the country.

Commenting on the findings, professor Roger Scully of the Wales Governance Centre said: "This latest data strongly confirms the picture established in previous research - that devolution is the settled will of the Welsh people.

"But what we have been able to reveal is that we appear to have reached this point despite people being markedly unimpressed with the actual policy achievements of the last 20 years of devolved government."