Thirteen years ago was indeed a bright morning as New Labour started modernising Britain and with it came real chance to change politics in Wales. Then in 1999 came the first Welsh Assembly by a thin margin following a positive “Yes for Wales” campaign by the main progressive parties, despite Tory opposition to the whole devolution project.

On the whole we have seen how effective it is with Labour in government both at Westminster and Cardiff Bay. While there are clearly some differences in detail between policies developed in Wales and at the UK level, the shared centre-left values and principles have largely been advantageous for Wales.

And so following the recent general election outcome, Wales is the only part of the UK where Labour is in government. What are the challenges for Welsh Labour in a coalition-led Britain as we look ahead over the next five years? There are two broad issues: one is about more powers for the assembly to get things done more effectively, while the other relates to policy priorities against a background of savage cuts in public expenditure by the ConDem coalition at Westminster.

Labour in Wales has brought in significant measures including free prescriptions, a statutory obligation to eradicate child poverty, a children’s commissioner, a fairer system for charging for non-residential social care, and key actions and targets for the environment and waste.

Yet the widely held view is that some of these changes have taken too long from policy idea to becoming law, and even with a new mechanism called the LCO (legislative competence order) new legislation still seems to come along tortoise pace at best.

And so we come to calls for a referendum for full lawmaking powers for the national assembly, a move which this time has cross-party support with even some previously sceptical Tories on board. What would a ‘Yes’ vote mean next year? In a nutshell, the Welsh Assembly would no longer need to seek permission from parliament each time it wants to pass a law on a devolved matter.

Sounds simple, yet with memories still fresh of how close the last referendum turned out, campaigners for more powers are anxious a strong, clear case is made for a “Yes” vote.

So secondly, what are some of the key policy areas where full lawmaking powers for the national assembly can best help Wales navigate through challenging economic times ahead?

To boost the life chances of our young people and eradicate child poverty will require a focused effort on bringing forward imaginative and creative ways of developing the whole school curriculum. This way Wales will stimulate strong growth in its human capital base in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, which will be essential for the increasingly important new industries.

The greatest asset Wales has is the potential of its people to increase their capabilities by encouraging a culture of experiment and discovery. By empowering all our young people they will realise their capabilities and help transform the economy in Wales, as social entrepreneurs or in creating exciting new businesses of the future.

Another policy area which will impact in a big way on Wales going forward is energy, both in terms of job creation and tackling key carbon reduction targets. While the Welsh Assembly government has already set ambitious greenhouse gas emission targets and launched a long-term energy strategy, its power is limited to small energy projects up to 50MW. One way forward would be to increase this to, say, 300MW which would give the assembly power to drive forward exciting community-based energy schemes which could be run as cooperatives.

A third area involves improving the quality of our environment by tackling the serious problem of recycling and landfill. Although a recycling target of 70 per cent by 2025 has been set we need faster action and more imaginative ways of reaching zero waste which may require new legislation. These can be difficult areas as they require a change in behaviour on the part of citizens, but their positive impact on health outcomes and our environment should not be underestimated.

The above are just a few of the policy areas where full lawmaking powers for the Welsh Assembly could make a profound difference to people’s life chances and quality of life. We have a responsibility to make sure Wales takes this opportunity in the forthcoming referendum by voting ‘yes’.