The British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, yesterday rejected suggestions that the less than overwhelming vote in favour of a Welsh assembly represented a setback for the government in its attempt to redraw Britain's constitutional map.
As the recriminations continued in a demoralised No camp, the Tory leader, Mr William Hague, said the people of Wales had sent the government a "stark message" that it was "extremely troubled and divided about what is being proposed."
While the people of Wales woke up to the prospect of devolved government with little more than a cursory welcome, Mr Blair set about convincing the sceptics that a majority was a majority, by whatever margin.
Although he was "delighted" by the result, he acknowledged the narrowness of the victory, saying he would "take account" of the fears of the Welsh electorate, 49 per cent of whom stayed at home.
"That is why we carry on allaying their fears and making sure they know this is about decentralising power and it is entirely consistent with the better services on which they rely," Mr Blair said.
Relieved Yes campaigners, who admitted they had ridden a "roller-coaster" of emotions during the night, began celebrating their victory as the last decisive result came in from Carmarthenshire just before 4 a.m.
The official results centre at the Welsh College of Music and Drama was swathed in Welsh flags as the Welsh Secretary, Mr Ron Davies, announced that the verdict represented a "very clear mandate" for a Welsh assembly. However, several bleary-eyed supporters admitted their celebrations had been overshadowed by the "less than overwhelming endorsement" of the Welsh people.
The victory for the Yes campaign, which at times during Thursday night seemed far from certain, meant that Welsh voters spared Mr Blair the first tangible defeat of his leadership. With all but one vote declared, the No camp appeared to have swung the result in their favour following clear victories in Wrexham, Denbighshire and, crucially, Cardiff.
However, the result moved closer and closer to the wire until finally the future of the Welsh assembly rested on the last count in Carmarthenshire. It returned an overwhelming Yes vote of 49,115 (65.28 per cent) to 26,119 (34.72 per cent) No. But the final voting figures provided little consolation for the Yes camp with 559,419 (50.3 per cent) in favour to 552,698 (49.7 per cent), a majority of just 6,721 (0.6 per cent).