It's a weighty piece of work, more academic tome than pamphlet as they put it in the Wales Office - an exercise in governance that hasn't been undertaken in many years and a valuable, proper contribution to the process of considering where the devolution journey has got us, and whether we'd be wise to stop now, or press on.

BBC: Commission keeps calm and carries on

He'll be remembered in the process as the secretary of state who was in office when devolution came into place, for his suspension of the devolved power-sharing executive in order to prevent its complete collapse, and for putting it back into place a few months later when a deal was brokered by the British and Irish Prime Ministers, with Mr Mandelson heavily involved.

BBC: What next for Northern Ireland?

This process, known as devolution, would effectively transfer a whole swathe of law making and administrative powers from Westminster to the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Executive.

BBC: Devolution in Scotland

Experience from elsewhere in Europe suggested ministers should be more "relaxed" about the pace of devolution in different parts of the country, he told MPs, and that the process would always be "dynamic".

BBC: UK Politics