The first XI

I do enjoy these surveys of politicians by politicians. The joys of percentages mean small numbers of people can appear as hugely significant masses of opinion.

So Edwina Hart is the "top performer" chosen by 25 per cent of the 30 people sampled by the pollsters (I make that eight).

Lower down the popularity chain, Nick Bourne, Ieuan Wyn Jones and Jocelyn Davies have the support of four per cent - if my maths is correct that means two AMs each rated them.

The consolation for Professor Bourne, Mr Jones and Ms Davies is that they are twice as popular as Nick Ramsay and Jenny Randerson, who were named by two per cent of those asked - I make that one AM each.

The consolation for Mr Ramsay and Mrs Randerson is that still makes them more popular than 49 other AMs, who didn't make the IPSOS-Mori first eleven.

History denied

I could see the hand of history coming over the horizon. The Welsh Health Minister - and Labour leadership contender - Edwina Hart was due to make her long-awaited debut before a committee of MPs at Westminster next Thursday.

Alas, this historic event has been cancelled as, according to a spokeswoman, the chairman of the select committee on Welsh Affairs decided this was not a suitable date, denying MPs a first chance to grill Ms Hart during her 10 years as a Minister.

She had been asked to appear before, some years ago but was apparently reluctant, leading to First Minister Rhodri Morgan stepping in to answer questions on her brief.

Of course, the committee could use its powers to summon witnesses to invite Ms H to Westminster but that is thought unlikely. With the result of the leadership election due within two weeks, this is an encounter that may never happen.

Guto and Madge

One of my Facebook friends put it this way: "In all the excitement about the All Wales Convention I'd almost forgotten about the Queen's Speech."

Not everyone covering politics fell victim to the same amnesia, but those who live on the political treadmill can occasionally miss the odd gem that fails to make the news bulletins.

So I've only just caught up with mixed news for my former BBC colleague Guto Harri, now chief spin doctor for Mayor of London Boris Johnson. As compensation for missing out on the Western Mail's list of 50 sexiest men in Wales, Guto has retained his position in the Evening Standard's list of London's 1000 most influential people.

The Standard says Guto is "Well-liked by his staff due to his ability to sweet-talk and get in a round of drinks, but not afraid to admonish anyone failing to toe the party line. Thought to have turned to Boris after a failed attempt to land the spin doctor job at Number 10. Must tread careful line in tense dealings with Cameroons."

The citation may not win top marks for 100 per cent accuracy, but in Guto's job it's probably better to be on it than off it.

The Mayor's office is also setting new standards for transparency for devolved governments with its register of gifts and hospitality. You can read where Guto has been breaking bread, and with whom, here, along with a list of others whose entertainment he has enjoyed in the line of duty.

Funny that, I never had him down as a Madonna fan.

"The public are serenely indifferent"

Danny Finkelstein of  The Times offers this splendid wake-up call for all us hacks who occasionally assume that the voters take in any of what we report. The "fog" of confusion isn't confined to Wales and may be bigger than you might think, with the public "serenely indifferent" to much political activity.

Perhaps I should switch to blogging about sport or soaps, as I guess more voters are interested in Rafael Benitez or Roy Cropper's fate than today's developments at Westminster.

The politicians do their best to engage our attention. Zac Goldsmith, the Conservative parliamentary candidate on my adopted manor held a public meeting this week.

He advertised it by hanging green balloons outside the local church hall. My daughter is convinced they are there to mark her third birthday, still one month away. I will let her enjoy her serene indifference to the political process a little longer.

By royal appointment

"My Government will continue to devolve more powers to Wales". Gosh, that was quick. Sir Emyr Jones Parry only published his report at midnight. Fewer than 12 hours later, Her Majesty appears to have announced its delivery.

Well, perhaps not. Before the street bunting goes up amid referendum fever across the land, what the Queen was referring to was the way in which the current system operates, with powers in 45 different areas devolved to the Welsh Assembly during the last three years.

"The Assembly is getting the powers it needs for the people of Wales," says the Wales Office.

Discuss.

History In Our Time

It is indeed an historic day, a landmark moment in time that will be remembered by generations to come.

In future, people will turn to each other and instantly recall exactly where they were when they heard the news - that Peter Hain was "unavailable for comment".

The media-friendly Welsh Secretary has declined an opportunity to appear live on Wales's most-watched news programme, lest he be diverted from a discussion of the Queen's Speech by a cheeky question or two on his views on when there should be a referendum on the National Assembly's law-making powers.

Vote blue, go green?

Meet Greg. He's the man who could decide the fate of thousands of jobs on Anglesey and Wales's energy supply.

Greg (Clark) is the shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. Within months, if the polls are right, he will be in charge of Britain's energy policy (well, most of Britain, and most energy policy anyway).

For all the talk of fast-tracking nuclear power planning decisions, by the time of the next election it's unlikely that a planning application to build a new reactor (or two) near the existing ones at Wylfa will have been submitted.

So any application could land on Greg's desk, as the Conservatives have said Labour's Infrastructure Planning Commission is not democratically accountable.

So what will he do? The Conservatives, for whom nuclear power was "a last resort" back in 2006, now see it as a vital part of Britain's energy mix. They wish this week's decision had been made earlier.

So will Wylfa get the same priority as it has under Ed Miliband? Will the Conservatives press ahead with a new plant there?

Forgive all the questions; I put a few of them to Greg's shadow cabinet colleague, Cheryl Gillan, this afternoon.

She devoted her contributions to Welsh Questions in the Commons to highlighting Labour's "mixed signals" over nuclear power - although the opposition comes in the main from politicians would would not have the final say on the issue.

I asked whether a Conservative government would press ahead with Wylfa Will a Conservative government press ahead with Wylfa. "I hope so" was the response.

Perhaps it is the effect of 12 and a half years in opposition that has left the Conservatives so focused on attacking the Government that is has lost sight of the imminence of the general election.

So we don't know for sure whether the Conservatives would carry forward Labour's energy plans, or, for that matter, press ahead with plans to locate the defence training centre at St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan.

The Conservatives questioned the Government's prison-building plans in the Commons today. So would a Tory government build a prison in the north?

I suppose it's asking too much this close to the election to enquire after a Tory government's plans for the Barnett formula and a bank holiday on St David's Day.

Speaking of which, I wandered along to the unveiling of Plaid Cymru's alternative Queen's Speech this lunchtime. The traditional St David's Day (Bank Holiday) Bill was missing.

I'll leave you to decide whether this is a "snub to Wales" or "a slap in the face".

She shoots, she scores

As a parliamentary correspondent, I'm sometimes asked: "David, what do MPs do all day now that many day-to-day decisions are taken in Cardiff Bay not Westminster?"

Of course, MPs do still find time to debate issues such as nuclear power, the economy and foreign affairs. Many of them were so busy last week that they could not find the time to discuss proposed reforms to their expenses regime.

More evidence of what some of them get up to can be found on the Commons order paper. The re-naming of St James' Park (the one in Newcastle, not the one near Parliament) has been condemned by 22 MPs in a Commons motion.

Among the signatories is the Labour MP for Conwy, Betty Williams, who also found time in her busy schedule to sign another motion praising the decision to televise the England versus Australia Rugby League match.

She has also registered her approval for another motion praising Blackpool Football Club's "It's a Goal" initiative.

As the sports broadcasting legend Alan Partridge would say, "Back of the net!"

Letting the people decide

Bit of a headache for Welsh political hacks this one. We're now going to have to think of another question to ask David Cameron's people in Wales now he is confirming that a Conservative government would not block a request from the Welsh Assembly to hold a referendum on its powers.*

When Cheryl Gillan told us at the Tory conference in Manchester "we will let the people decide" she really did mean what we thought she said. As Secretary of State for Wales, she would avoid the trap of rejecting a request for a vote - the trap of an unpopular Conservative government fuelling demands for more freedom from Westminster.

There are still questions for Ms Gillan to answer. We still don't know which way she would vote in any referendum but that in one sense is academic as she wouldn't have a vote - unless Lord Garel-Jones's idea of enfranchising the expats takes off. (Perhaps my own ballot paper is in the post)

So insoluble are Tory divisions on the subject that the party's MPs would be given a free vote on the issue, a licence to campaign on either side of the argument. It could be the sort of campaign that pitches the party's MPs against the party's AMs, undermining Cheryl Gillan's plans to create harmony between Cardiff Bay and Westminster.

So now everyone is committed to letting the people decide, why wait for a change of government? Sir Emyr Jones Parry's report later this month is expected to fuel enthusiasm for a referendum among those keen for the Assembly to acquire full law-making powers and consign LCOs to the Welsh political archive.

The worrying thing for enthusiasts is that the strongest shout for a referendum (I paraphrase but "bring it on now" was the tone) I've heard this week came from the Conservative MP for Monmouth, David Davies. He may be a former Assembly Member, but there's no mystery about which way he would vote - or his motive for calling an early poll.

*If there are any other Welsh questions you'd like Team Cameron to be asked, do let us know. Would the Tories go ahead with the defence training college at St Athan springs to mind. Would a Cameron government committed to making devolution work really have a Secretary of State based in Buckinghamshire?

I'd hate to have to fall back on whether Prime Minister Cameron would implement Tory AMs' demands for St David's Day to be made a public holiday.

Voting early and often

One of the affiliated groups taking part in the Welsh Labour leadership election has more than ten times as many votes as members.

The Co-operative Party has "somewhere under 1,000" members in Wales, but will have 10,000 votes in the electoral college that will choose Rhodri Morgan's successor.

Co-op deputy general secretary Karen Wilkie said: "In terms of the Labour Party, the Co-operative Party has always affiliated on behalf of the wider co-operative movement; our voting strength reflects this rather than our actual number of party activists."

Labour - whose 11,000 Welsh members have one third of the votes - said organisations decide the numbers to affiliate and their voting strength is decided accordingly.
Voting will take longer for some than others. By my reckoning, the former First Secretary, Alun Michael, has at least five votes - as an MP, a party member, a member of the Co-op party, the GMB union and the Fabian Society.

Siwperman

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Plaid Cymru's parliamentary leader.

Elfyn Llwyd reveals to readers of Total Politics magazine that the literary character he would most like to be is: "Superman - for obvious reasons."

So if you spot the Meirionnydd Nant Conwy flying through the air with his underpants over his trousers you'll know this is a dream come true.

It will at least make up for his disappointment at the magazine's (snub to Wales?)  failure to include him in its list of top 10 politicians with facial hair.

David Lloyd George is the sole Welsh representative in a top 10 that includes Bob Ainsworth, Ken Livingstone and Peter Mandelson.