IT CAN'T be understated just how significant yesterday's threat of legal action against the Welsh Assembly by the Welsh Government is.

The whole point of the Welsh Assembly is to hold the Welsh Government to account.

So for the government - indeed, the first minister himself - to threaten to take our elected representatives to court for doing just that is at best alarming, at worst a direct assault on democracy.

The circumstances around the death of Carl Sargeant are by far the most emotive issue in Welsh politics for years, so to seek to block a debate on the issue through such extreme measures raises some very serious questions about the Welsh Government role in the whole tragic affair.

But let's look at it from the Welsh Government's point of view for a moment.

They say, if the Conservative motion demanding the release of the report into the alleged leaking of Mr Sargeant's sacking is successful, it would effectively render confidentiality irrelevant as AMs would be able to demand the release of any piece of information held by the Welsh Government.

As a result, the confidentiality of witnesses could no longer be guaranteed, compromising the integrity of this and any future inquiry.

For their part, the Welsh Conservatives have made it clear they want the inquiry report released with reactions to protect witnesses, but there's no legal requirement for this in the particular section of the Government of Wales Act they're relying on.

Ultimately - with presiding officer Elin Jones refusing to withdraw the motion from today's Assembly business - there's a decent chance this will end up being settled by the courts, and that's new territory for Welsh democracy.

We could find ourselves in the position where the Welsh Government is fending off a Supreme Court challenge against its EU continuity bill from UK Government, while itself challenging the Assembly over the leak report.

What's that they say about living in interesting times?

l The Empire Strikes Back is the best Star Wars movie, Marmite is horrible, and Enoch Powell’s infamous Rivers of Blood speech was Not A Good Thing - all things accepted by all right-minded members of society.

Or so I thought.

But game show contestant and Ukip Wales leader Neil Hamilton has never been one to go with the flow, appearing on the radio early this week to say the idea right-wing Conservative and Ulster Unionist MP Mr Powell was a "racist villain" was "absolute nonsense".

It takes either a very brave or very foolish politician to stand up for Enoch Powell - which one of these applies to Mr Hamilton I wouldn't like to say.

l Last year's Welsh Liberal Democrat spring conference was a deeply depressing affair, with a handful of supporters sitting in a draughty school hall in Swansea licking their wounds after a disastrous Assembly Election and the blow of the Brexit vote.

But this year something changed, with last week's conference proving an energetic and upbeat affair, with a notable number of young people in attendance.

It's this which could prove the party's saving grace - if they can mobilise their youthful supporters not only to get out there and campaign, but also stand in future elections, there's a real opportunity for them.

The problem it faces is they haven't got a platform. The party's only AM, Kirsty Williams, is in the Welsh Government cabinet as education secretary, and is therefore bound by collective responsibility, and they haven't got a single MP.

So they're going to have to be very smart over the coming months and years, or be doomed to electoral oblivion forever.

Next up in spring conference season is Welsh Labour in Llandudno this weekend. It ought to prove an interesting one, with either Julie Morgan or Caroline Harris to be elected as the party's first deputy leader.

And the election is for more than just a person - with Mrs Morgan backing the one-member-one-vote system - which was used to elect Jeremy Corbyn as the UK party leader - and Ms Harris in favour of the electoral college - the method used in American presidential elections.

Whoever wins will be seen not only as a victory for the candidate, but as an endorsement of the specific voting system and could well set the tone for the future for the party.

In the meantime, Carwyn Jones will be seeking to convince party members he's still the man to lead them. But, with the ongoing Carl Sargeant scandal looming large, he's not so much got an uphill battle as a scramble up a very crumbly cliff.

I don't envy him.