The No campaigners in Wrexham town centre were just visible behind the large yellow posters held high by the supporters for the Yes vote. There weren't many Noes but they made themselves heard every now and again between the shouts of "We love you Tony" and "Tony Blair's barmy army". "We want to hear a nice big cheer and hold your posters up so we can see them," the young Labour volunteers instructed the crowd.
Mr Blair might have kept the crowd waiting but when he eventually arrived after a tour of the local car plant, he pressed the flesh of the people of this struggling town in a manner reminiscent of this year's election campaign.
Wrexham may be traditional Labour territory but the No voters appear genuinely worried that a Welsh assembly will mean they are "completely forgotten by the power-brokers down in Cardiff".
When he did arrive to shake the outstretched hands, Mr Blair was pressed and prodded by people who admitted they hadn't made up their minds, and simply wanted to come and "see the man for myself".
Therein lies the problem facing the Yes campaign and the lifeline for the Noes. The apathy which opinion polls attribute to the people of Wales is one factor; but more important is the fact that voters just don't seem to be able to understand the purpose of a Welsh assembly.
What will it achieve? Will it just be another layer of government without any tangible powers? These were some of the issues being discussed in the crowd waiting for their first glimpse of Mr Blair. The Noes made their feelings clear. Apathy, they say, will result in the plans for a Welsh assembly being scrapped.
"If the people in Cardiff have their way we'll all be forgotten up here. This is a poverty-stricken area. We've got nothing and will only make money if we tax the bloody Scousers for their water."
Even in Wrexham the supporters of a Welsh assembly - which would take control of health, education, roads and agricultural policy and spend the £7 billion block grant presently run by the Welsh Office - concede that it will be "little more than another government quango, but at least it's closer to us so we might have more say".
But although Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Welsh Nationalists, Plaid Cymru, have joined forces in this campaign, opinion polls differ considerably on the prospect for a Yes vote. Up to a third of Welsh people have yet to make up their minds which way to vote tomorrow. Just yesterday a poll for the Wrexham Evening Leader put the Yes vote at 29 per cent, the Noes at 45 per cent and the Don't Knows at 26 per cent. This contrasted with the results of an earlier poll for the Western Mail, which found the Yes vote was holding at 62 per cent, with 14 per cent for the Noes, while the Don't Knows were at 23 per cent.
On Hope Street, beside the cordon set up by the police to keep the crowds back, a Yes campaigner pulled a No poster from the hands of the man standing next to her. To shouts of "Leave him alone, we live in a democracy", the Yes campaign mascot, a supporter dressed as a teddy bear, wobbled and nearly fell to the ground as Mr Blair approached.
See also page 14