12/04/2014

:00:07. > :00:10.David Cameron says Offa's Dyke is the border between life and death.

:00:11. > :00:13.The Welsh NHS is under the spotlight. We'll put the Prime

:00:14. > :00:14.Minister's assertion under the microscope. Welcome to Conference

:00:15. > :00:27.Live. Prynhawn da - good afternoon and

:00:28. > :00:30.welcome to the final programme in our coverage of the Welsh political

:00:31. > :00:34.spring conferences. Today we are with the Welsh Conservatives at the

:00:35. > :00:37.Royal Pavilion in Llangollen as you can see delegates are already into

:00:38. > :00:47.this afternoon's business. They're holding a session on rural affairs.

:00:48. > :00:50.Grant Shapps is currently on stage. Joining me throughout this

:00:51. > :00:55.afternoon's programme is our Welsh affairs editor, Vaughan Roderick. We

:00:56. > :01:00.know there is little love lost between the Welsh government and the

:01:01. > :01:04.UK Government. Yes, this has been ratcheting up for

:01:05. > :01:14.months but it has reached a new pitch. The Conservatives' attacks on

:01:15. > :01:19.the NHS and Carwyn Jones's government's handling of the health

:01:20. > :01:28.service. Some would say we are now reaching a

:01:29. > :01:34.new low in the debate. We have had the Royal College of nurses

:01:35. > :01:41.intervening today and saying using the NHS as a political football does

:01:42. > :01:46.not do patients any good. I wonder how much traction will be gained by

:01:47. > :01:52.using this as a constant target for the Welsh government.

:01:53. > :01:56.They are going out of their way to say they are not attacking doctors

:01:57. > :02:00.or nurses. If you imagine the position that those professionals

:02:01. > :02:08.are in when we meet friends and neighbours, they are being asked

:02:09. > :02:12.what is going on. Inevitably, criticisms of the health service or

:02:13. > :02:16.the education service or any public service will affect morale. The

:02:17. > :02:20.Conservatives would say that they can't leave the service as it is

:02:21. > :02:26.because they think it is in crisis and there are dangers and the other

:02:27. > :02:30.duty to highlight that. The European elections are coming

:02:31. > :02:37.up. How much of a threat is there to the one Welsh Conservative seat?

:02:38. > :02:40.A pretty major threat. The Conservatives topped the poll is a

:02:41. > :02:46.few years ago but since then two things have happened. Labour has

:02:47. > :02:54.recovered support and we have had the rise of UKIP. There could be a

:02:55. > :03:00.very close fight for the last Welsh seat.

:03:01. > :03:04.Thank you for now. The headline act yesterday was the visit of David

:03:05. > :03:10.Cameron and this is what the Prime Minister and leader of the

:03:11. > :03:25.Conservative Party had to say. Thank you. Thank you very much. It's

:03:26. > :03:29.great to be back here. It is hard to remember ever seeing it looking as

:03:30. > :03:34.beautiful as it looked in the sunshine today. It is 16 years since

:03:35. > :03:43.the party was last here in Llangollen. Back then we had no

:03:44. > :03:54.Welsh MPs and today we have eight. And we also have our brilliant Welsh

:03:55. > :04:00.MEP. Yes, today, not only did we have 14 Assembly Members, we are the

:04:01. > :04:05.main opposition. This did not just happen. There are no such things as

:04:06. > :04:13.safe Conservative seat in Wales. We have won because of you. Because of

:04:14. > :04:23.our team. Andrew RT Davies, David Jones, . Our whole team. To everyone

:04:24. > :04:37.of you I want to see a huge thank you. -- say. It is thanks to your

:04:38. > :04:42.hard work that we are in government and delivering for Wales. Remember

:04:43. > :04:49.what we said in those long years of opposition. Two pensioners we said,

:04:50. > :04:52.you have had a rod Il four years. Your pensions have been raided and

:04:53. > :04:58.your savings at windowing. We will do right by you. That is what the

:04:59. > :05:06.budget was all about. An end to force a new these -- annuities. To

:05:07. > :05:10.all those who have worked and saved and done the right thing, we have

:05:11. > :05:16.sent the clearest message. We are on your side. We said to the business

:05:17. > :05:21.people of Wales that we know how desperate you are for decent

:05:22. > :05:26.broadband, roads and railways, and we are to live in. The largest

:05:27. > :05:36.investments since the Victorian era in the railways. Superfast broadband

:05:37. > :05:43.across rural Wales. The huge Hitachi investment in nuclear power. And the

:05:44. > :05:51.M4 is finally going to get the work it needs. That is because we have a

:05:52. > :05:52.hard-working Welsh Secretary and a hard-working Welsh office and

:05:53. > :06:03.Conservatives in government delivering for Wales. We said we

:06:04. > :06:07.would back those who work hard and do the right thing and today across

:06:08. > :06:11.Wales there are hundreds of thousands of people who are paying

:06:12. > :06:16.less for petrol than they would have done under a Labour, who look online

:06:17. > :06:22.at their mortgage payments and they are paying less, and people who open

:06:23. > :06:28.their pay packets and are paying less income tax or even none at all.

:06:29. > :06:33.At the same time, in the Cardiff A, Andrew RT Davies is fighting heart

:06:34. > :06:40.and soul to cut council taxes and put ?100 back in people's pockets.

:06:41. > :06:49.While we are talking about taxes, let me say this. I believe in income

:06:50. > :06:54.tax demolition -- devolution but above all I believe as the

:06:55. > :07:06.Conservatives campaigning as the one and only low tax party in Wales

:07:07. > :07:10.today. We know this simple fact. There is no such thing as government

:07:11. > :07:17.money. It is your money and we want you to keep more of it. Remember

:07:18. > :07:24.what else we said in those years of opposition when Tony Blair was in

:07:25. > :07:29.Brussels, giving our veto away. We said we would stand up for Britain

:07:30. > :07:35.in Europe so we cut to the EU budget for the first time ever, we vetoed

:07:36. > :07:41.an EU treaty for the first time ever and when it comes to giving the

:07:42. > :07:50.British people a say it is only the Conservative Party who will deliver

:07:51. > :07:56.that in/out referendum. Our duty by those who do their duty to others.

:07:57. > :08:02.In the past 13 years, many sons and daughters of Wales have served in

:08:03. > :08:05.Afghanistan. For those who serve and for their families, we have done

:08:06. > :08:09.what we can. We doubled the operational allowance and wrote to

:08:10. > :08:13.the military covenant into the law of our land and this year we will

:08:14. > :08:21.bring in the last of our combat troops home. But now let our party

:08:22. > :08:26.show this. Our pride for those who serve and our respect to those

:08:27. > :08:31.who've come home and our otter unending gratitude to those who did

:08:32. > :08:49.not come home. We salute you and we will always honour your memory. I

:08:50. > :08:55.come here today with one big clear message. The Conservatives are

:08:56. > :09:01.ambitious for Wales. In five months, the flags will go up and the red

:09:02. > :09:05.carpets will be ruled out. The skies above this country will be thick

:09:06. > :09:11.with aircraft. The NATO summit is coming to Wales. London at the

:09:12. > :09:14.Olympics and Northern Ireland had the G8 in Scotland has the

:09:15. > :09:23.Commonwealth Games. Now it is Wales's then. It is the biggest

:09:24. > :09:26.summit Britain has ever held. With the situation in Ukraine, the world

:09:27. > :09:30.will be watching and asking do we still stand up to aggression and

:09:31. > :09:35.pledge our collective efforts to defend our allies? Do we believe in

:09:36. > :09:43.the future of NATO which has kept the peace in Europe for 65 years? I

:09:44. > :09:58.said yes to those questions. I have seen the schedule for the summit. I

:09:59. > :10:06.can't promise that Barack Obama will be eating local food or Angela

:10:07. > :10:14.Merkel watching the Welsh soap opera. But we are going to shine a

:10:15. > :10:17.spotlight on this country. That is because we are ambitious for Wales.

:10:18. > :10:22.I look across this country and I have a vision of Wales growing

:10:23. > :10:27.stronger and richer with more decent, well paying jobs. I go to

:10:28. > :10:33.those manufacturing plants churning out wings for the biggest aeroplane

:10:34. > :10:38.in the world and I want to see more apprentices getting on in life. I

:10:39. > :10:44.see the technology in Cardiff and think of all the companies that

:10:45. > :10:49.could start there. Silicon valley coming to the valleys. It is not

:10:50. > :10:52.enough just to see a recovery in one part of the country. We wanted to

:10:53. > :10:58.reach the parts which were written off and stop the towns where a fifth

:10:59. > :11:08.of the people left on benefits. Inner cities where young people feel

:11:09. > :11:13.they are -- there is nowhere to go. But these words are easy. Anyone can

:11:14. > :11:18.talk up their ambitions. But my argument is that true ambition is

:11:19. > :11:24.not easy. It is measured not in words or how much you find a

:11:25. > :11:30.patriotically from. True ambition is measured in actions. Today I want to

:11:31. > :11:38.argue that being truly ambitious for Wales means doing some things.

:11:39. > :11:44.Setting out a serious long-term plan, not a series of gimmicks. With

:11:45. > :11:54.Labour it is always the same. If it grows, regulate. If it moves, tax.

:11:55. > :11:57.If it's an airport, nationalise. If there is someone who says she

:11:58. > :12:02.regrets capitalism, may carry your Business Minister. If it is a

:12:03. > :12:08.superficial headline grabbing gimmick, then do it. From Carwyn

:12:09. > :12:14.Jones, we get a delivery units to coordinate government but one tiny

:12:15. > :12:22.problem - they refuse to show you what it actually delivers. From Ed

:12:23. > :12:31.Miliband we get and energy policy which is a scam. Business after

:12:32. > :12:37.business tells us their plans would cut jobs. Running a country is not a

:12:38. > :12:42.marketing campaign. True ambition means a serious long-term plan. We

:12:43. > :12:53.have that plan. It has five parts. Reduce the deficit, cut income tax,

:12:54. > :12:58.create more jobs, capped welfare and reducing immigration and delivering

:12:59. > :13:04.the best schools and skills for young people. Sadly not all of this

:13:05. > :13:08.can apply in Wales while Labour are in charge but where we can we are

:13:09. > :13:13.working with that plan and it is working. Our economy is one of the

:13:14. > :13:21.fastest-growing in the developed world. The deficit is down by one

:13:22. > :13:27.third. Mortgage rates are at historic lows. Income tax has been

:13:28. > :13:45.cut for 1.2 million people in Wales. From this week, 144,000 of them will

:13:46. > :13:52.pay no income tax at all. We have seen unemployment in Wales come down

:13:53. > :13:57.by 32,000 since the election. On creating new private-sector jobs,

:13:58. > :14:02.the plan is working. Listen to this. In the past year, we have seen a

:14:03. > :14:10.faster increase in employment here in Wales than in any other part of

:14:11. > :14:14.the UK. Yes, you heard me right. Wales, which has lost out on

:14:15. > :14:21.previous recoveries and so often gets left behind has seen a faster

:14:22. > :14:27.increase in employment than any other part of the UK. Faster than

:14:28. > :14:33.London and the south-east. The UK capital for jobs growth is here in

:14:34. > :14:37.Wales. That is because we have a serious long-term economic plan and

:14:38. > :14:43.that plan is working. I want everyone here to hold their head

:14:44. > :14:46.high and be proud to say that the Conservatives are back in government

:14:47. > :15:02.and we are getting Wales back to work. The second test of true

:15:03. > :15:06.ambition is this. Are you willing to take the difficult decisions that

:15:07. > :15:12.are in the national interest or will you stick your head in the sand? The

:15:13. > :15:21.testing ground as the deficit. We made our choice. In May 2010 we came

:15:22. > :15:25.into government and so the deficit and began the monumental task of

:15:26. > :15:30.reducing it. This has involved some extremely difficult decisions. Let's

:15:31. > :15:34.be clear to the people of Wales about why we have had to make them.

:15:35. > :15:38.There are practical economic reasons. No one will invest in a

:15:39. > :15:46.country which is crippled by debt. No one will take a business loan

:15:47. > :15:48.with spiralling interest rates. Everyone found we spend on debt

:15:49. > :15:58.interest could be better spent elsewhere. -- pound. Conservatives

:15:59. > :16:02.believe in leaving something better for the next generations. I have

:16:03. > :16:11.three children. I hope to have grandchildren. When I have them I

:16:12. > :16:16.want to be able to look them in the eye and now that when we had our

:16:17. > :16:21.time we take difficult decisions, clear up the mess and fixed the roof

:16:22. > :16:40.when the sun was shining. Compare that to Labour. There are is or ever

:16:41. > :16:47.from all of their offices. It is called denial. If there is one man

:16:48. > :17:00.who stuck his head deeper in the sand than any other then it is Ed

:17:01. > :17:03.Balls. Earlier this year, he was talking about labour's record in

:17:04. > :17:08.government and he said this. Do I think the level of public spending

:17:09. > :17:18.going into the crisis was a problem for Britain? No, I don't. Nor is our

:17:19. > :17:21.deficit our national debt. These people who sat in the Treasury when

:17:22. > :17:29.the economy crashed, the banks bust, the deaths and -- deficit

:17:30. > :17:36.ballooned, they have learned nothing. The ones who crashed the

:17:37. > :17:51.car are asking for the same keys to the same car so they can smash it

:17:52. > :17:58.into the wall again. Now, the third test of true ambition is this: Do

:17:59. > :18:05.you have the coverage to really reform our public services? Or are

:18:06. > :18:08.you suffering from that complacency of sitting back, sitting with the

:18:09. > :18:13.status quo and perpetuating the same old thing? Tragedy, that is what we

:18:14. > :18:19.see from the Welsh Assembly Government in Wales today,

:18:20. > :18:24.appalling, inexcusable complacency. We see it in education, in reading,

:18:25. > :18:31.maths and science. Wales is falling behind. Not just the rest of the UK,

:18:32. > :18:36.but the rest of Western Europe. What is Carwyn Jones' response? He said

:18:37. > :18:43.this: We took our eye off the ball. I'm sorry? This is like the guy in

:18:44. > :18:47.the crows nest of the Titanic saying we took our eye off the Horizon!

:18:48. > :18:53.This man's government is thinking the hopes of a generation. That

:18:54. > :18:57.complacency reaches new heights when it comes to the Welsh National

:18:58. > :19:03.health said is. Let me be clear, the doctors, the nurses, the hard

:19:04. > :19:08.workers in our NHS in Wales, they are dedicated people, they do a

:19:09. > :19:13.brilliant job, but they are being woefully let down by Labour.

:19:14. > :19:18.Patients are waiting weeks and weeks for vital heart scans, one in seven

:19:19. > :19:27.people in Wales is on an NHS waiting list. We have a cancer drug fund in

:19:28. > :19:32.England but not here. When the's bike becomes the line between life

:19:33. > :19:38.and death, we are witnessing a national scandal. We have seen

:19:39. > :19:44.people waiting far too long for treatment, sometimes dying. These

:19:45. > :19:48.grieving people are in pain, they want investigations, but Labour just

:19:49. > :19:53.do not get it. Faced with grief, they demand evidence. Faced with

:19:54. > :19:57.evidence, they demand silence. It is the same old socialist mantra, the

:19:58. > :20:14.system knows best. Well, it doesn't and it is time for change in the NHS

:20:15. > :20:18.in Wales. And I... I tell you something else. After this but a

:20:19. > :20:25.shambles, Labour should never dare call themselves the party of the NHS

:20:26. > :20:29.ever again. Now, Welsh Conservatives are giving heart and soul but it

:20:30. > :20:34.doesn't have to be this way. With real coverage, real reform, things

:20:35. > :20:39.can be different. On the NHS we are arguing for more funding, or

:20:40. > :20:43.transparency, more power to doctors and nurses. In education we are

:20:44. > :20:47.saying, in a competitive world it is not softer subjects and experimental

:20:48. > :20:52.teaching that children need, it is proper spelling, basic arithmetic,

:20:53. > :20:57.proper maths, the best of our history, respected exams. It is not

:20:58. > :21:01.more of the failed ideological left-wing claptrap. It is more

:21:02. > :21:06.rigour, more choice, more standards, more hope. Let us argue that if you

:21:07. > :21:09.want those things, if you are ambitious for the children of Wales,

:21:10. > :21:14.then you have got to support the Conservatives. True ambition for

:21:15. > :21:19.Wales means setting out a long-term plan, taking difficult decisions in

:21:20. > :21:24.the national interest, and having the courage to reform our public

:21:25. > :21:28.services. Fourth, and finally, perhaps most importantly, it means

:21:29. > :21:33.believing in the people of Wales, and not writing them off. I mean all

:21:34. > :21:38.the people of Wales, not just the entrepreneurs and the workers, those

:21:39. > :21:43.who have never worked a day in their lives, those who sat at home day

:21:44. > :21:46.after day feeling they are not worth anything to anybody. Labour left

:21:47. > :21:51.more than a quarter of a million people in Wales on out of work

:21:52. > :21:57.benefits. More than 200 and thousand people. What were they told? Apply

:21:58. > :22:00.for benefits, go home, get forgotten about, languished for years out of

:22:01. > :22:07.work. Labour might call that compassion. I call it an appalling

:22:08. > :22:11.lack of ambition. So we are going to break that stranglehold of welfare

:22:12. > :22:17.dependency. You've seen it, major reform by major reform. Benefit cap,

:22:18. > :22:22.so no family can take home more than the average household earns. Housing

:22:23. > :22:26.benefit capped, sanctions for those who refuse work when they could

:22:27. > :22:32.work. Most importantly, universal credit so it always pays to go out

:22:33. > :22:37.to work. Let's be clear again. The reason why we are doing this, not to

:22:38. > :22:42.save money, but to change lives. Every person who gets off the dole,

:22:43. > :22:45.with everyone who feels the pride of having a job, with every young boy

:22:46. > :22:49.or girl who looks at their parents going out to work in the morning and

:22:50. > :22:52.think, I can do the same, with all these things we are building

:22:53. > :23:00.ambitious and hoped-for features for this country. So this is the

:23:01. > :23:03.message. The Conservatives are ambitious for Wales. We see a

:23:04. > :23:07.country with more decent jobs, where families feel more secure, where

:23:08. > :23:10.there is more hope for the gun and more security for the old, where

:23:11. > :23:13.children from every background have a chance to get on and make

:23:14. > :23:18.something of their lives, where there is a sense in the air and in

:23:19. > :23:22.all our communities that Wales is strong and proud and striding

:23:23. > :23:28.forward. And we have the tools to make those ambitions and reality.

:23:29. > :23:31.The long-term plan, the willingness to take the difficult decisions, the

:23:32. > :23:35.coverage for public sector reform, and above all the belief in the

:23:36. > :23:40.Welsh people. Because we see for ourselves every day the people --

:23:41. > :23:43.what the people of Wales can be. Like Hayley Thomas from

:23:44. > :23:47.Pembrokeshire. She came to Downing Street, she had been made redundant

:23:48. > :23:52.but did not lose heart. She got out one of our new enterprise allowances

:23:53. > :23:58.and started a play centre, and today she has not just got a job, she

:23:59. > :24:01.employs 15 other people. All the staff at Westbridge furniture,

:24:02. > :24:07.upholstery is, carpenters, gutters. I met them this morning and they are

:24:08. > :24:12.proud of the craft that they do. 250 people in the factory four years

:24:13. > :24:16.ago, over 400 today. Or the people at the data company in Wrexham who

:24:17. > :24:21.announced this morning that in the next two years they are doubling

:24:22. > :24:27.their workforce from 220 jobs to 440 jobs. 220 more people in Wales would

:24:28. > :24:32.be peace and security that comes with work and a regular pay packet.

:24:33. > :24:37.Or Sean Taylor, the former Royal Marine. You know what he has done?

:24:38. > :24:40.He set up the world 's fastest on the longest zip wire in Snowdonia.

:24:41. > :24:49.Just please don't let wrist anywhere near it! At least until after the

:24:50. > :24:53.election -- don't let Boris near it. These are the people of Wales,

:24:54. > :24:57.enterprising and ambitious. To all of the people tired of the lack of

:24:58. > :25:01.ambition from Labour, we have to show them there is an alternative.

:25:02. > :25:05.If you want a decent indication for your child, come with us. If you

:25:06. > :25:08.want lower taxes, come with us. If you want to see new jobs from the

:25:09. > :25:13.mountains to the balance, north to south, east to west, if you want to

:25:14. > :25:17.build something better for our children, come with us. If you are

:25:18. > :25:23.truly ambitious for Wales, cover with us. Work with us, and together

:25:24. > :25:29.we will build the future that Wales deserves. Thank you.

:25:30. > :25:35.That was the Prime Minister, David Cameron, addressing Conference

:25:36. > :25:40.yesterday, public service delivery the focus of his attention. There

:25:41. > :25:48.was a lot of strong stuff, a lot of emotive language as well. Yes, it

:25:49. > :25:52.was clearly an election speech, not about the European elections but the

:25:53. > :25:57.general election in just over a year from now. Every election in a sense,

:25:58. > :26:01.every general election, is a choice between two things, stay the course

:26:02. > :26:07.or time for a change, and this was David Cameron saying, keep on going,

:26:08. > :26:10.stay the course. That is why we had the references to the long-term

:26:11. > :26:14.plan, we are be people would be plan, Labour are spinning, don't

:26:15. > :26:18.give them back the keys to the car that they crashed. This was an

:26:19. > :26:24.election speech, naked into and claw. Stay the course in terms of

:26:25. > :26:28.the UK picture but change course in relation to Wales? Heavily

:26:29. > :26:34.criticising the Welsh NHS and Welsh education system as well. This is a

:26:35. > :26:39.rift that -- in risk that David Cameron has been using for a long

:26:40. > :26:43.time now, but to come to Wales and do it as bluntly as this I think

:26:44. > :26:48.will annoy people in the Welsh government. They don't know how to

:26:49. > :26:56.respond. Someone described the Welsh government attempting to respond to

:26:57. > :27:03.attacks from David Cameron at throwing a saucepan at a 10th.

:27:04. > :27:06.Rather than the claim about Wales that we were hearing at the Labour

:27:07. > :27:10.Conference a few weeks ago, I suspect the Welsh government. To

:27:11. > :27:15.ignore the attacks. Is this criticism of the Welsh NHS that we

:27:16. > :27:20.hear is that enough for them when it comes to the Welsh elections in

:27:21. > :27:24.2016, or are they going to be seen as a one trick pony? Do they need

:27:25. > :27:27.something else or have they sensed enough of a weakness in the armour

:27:28. > :27:32.of the Welsh Labour government that this is their course of action? When

:27:33. > :27:37.it comes to the assembly elections, what will happen will largely

:27:38. > :27:41.influence -- be influenced by what happened at the general election. Do

:27:42. > :27:45.we have a Labour government, a Conservative Government, a coalition

:27:46. > :27:50.government in Westminster? That'll be the background on which the

:27:51. > :27:53.assembly elections are played out. The Conservatives will tell you, we

:27:54. > :27:59.have got lots of policies, a high-street initiative, policies

:28:00. > :28:05.about cutting taxes, to do with education. But they do at the moment

:28:06. > :28:11.Centre opportunity to establish this narrative that the health service,

:28:12. > :28:16.the strong point in electronic terms, that they can get a narrative

:28:17. > :28:22.going here that the health service is not safe in Labour's hands. He

:28:23. > :28:26.ended the speech by saying Wales was shoving the way in terms of creating

:28:27. > :28:31.new jobs. The question is, can he take the credit for that, or can be

:28:32. > :28:35.Welsh government take the credit? It is an interesting question and maybe

:28:36. > :28:42.the anther if they can both take the credit for it. The economy in UK

:28:43. > :28:45.terms is going well, but in so far as Wales is doing better than the

:28:46. > :28:53.rest of the UK, you would have to say that that is more likely to be

:28:54. > :28:56.either the actions of the Welsh government or just the differences

:28:57. > :29:00.in the economic make-up of Wales. Wales has a lot of manufacturing,

:29:01. > :29:03.manufacturing is doing well at the moment, so that might be the

:29:04. > :29:09.explanation. Time now for two of yesterday's

:29:10. > :29:16.health speeches. The Labour MP and fluid was praised for the work she

:29:17. > :29:19.has been doing for stop the UK Government's Health Secretary Jeremy

:29:20. > :29:28.Hunt, responsible for the NHS in England, also praised her and

:29:29. > :29:34.criticised record of help. Waiting times for people who need

:29:35. > :29:41.urgent assessment for suspected cancer, missed for the last several

:29:42. > :29:45.years. A patient in Bridgend waiting over four hours in an ambulance

:29:46. > :29:52.before the patient was allowed through the door. Every single A

:29:53. > :29:56.target missed since 2009 with one patient spending not four hours but

:29:57. > :30:01.three full days in a Welsh emergency department. According to the Royal

:30:02. > :30:05.College of Surgeons, 152 people died on waiting lists at just two

:30:06. > :30:10.people. This morning the Nuffield Trust think tank published its

:30:11. > :30:13.comparison of the health systems across England, Wales, Northern

:30:14. > :30:18.Ireland and Scotland and found striking rises in waits for patients

:30:19. > :30:25.in Wales who now have to wait more than three months longer to get a

:30:26. > :30:29.hip or knee replacement. It revealed the appalling truth that you are

:30:30. > :30:34.twice as likely to die from a hospital infection in a Welsh

:30:35. > :30:40.hospital ban an English one. In a system as big and complex as the

:30:41. > :30:43.NHS, things do go wrong. But if you ignore the evidence when individual

:30:44. > :30:47.problems pile up, if you stick your head in the sand and pretend all

:30:48. > :30:51.will be fine, well that is exactly what happened in Mid-Staffs under

:30:52. > :30:58.the last Labour government in England. And that is what the Labour

:30:59. > :31:02.government in Cardiff is risking right now in Wales. They are

:31:03. > :31:10.sleepwalking into a Welsh Mid-Staffs tragedy, and unless we shout loud

:31:11. > :31:14.enough alongside brave campaigners like those who have lost their loved

:31:15. > :31:20.ones, these appalling lapses in care will repeat themselves time after

:31:21. > :31:24.time. Labour in Wales, says Ed Miliband, is a shining example and

:31:25. > :31:27.provides an example of what the UK Labour government would do. I tell

:31:28. > :31:35.you there is no greater reason to vote Welsh Conservative than that.

:31:36. > :31:40.But, you know, not all of his MPs agree with him. One in particular

:31:41. > :31:46.has been brave enough to speak out about the need for action - Ann

:31:47. > :31:49.Clwyd. Following her own tragic experience, she undertook a review

:31:50. > :31:55.of the NHS complaints system in England on behalf of the Prime

:31:56. > :31:58.Minister. She put political colours aside and listened to thousands of

:31:59. > :32:07.patients and their families about their experiences of the NHS. But

:32:08. > :32:11.she didn't just received e-mails from people in England. She also

:32:12. > :32:15.received hundreds from across Wales. The evidence she saw worried her so

:32:16. > :32:21.much that she spoke out about her concerns and called for an

:32:22. > :32:26.independent inquiry. So, how did Welsh Labour respond to their loyal

:32:27. > :32:31.colleague? What action today take in the wake of her work? Instead of

:32:32. > :32:37.welcoming the findings, they dismissed them. One said that she

:32:38. > :32:42.should stop it and publicly attacked her for denigrating the Welsh NHS.

:32:43. > :32:45.Labour Assembly Members voted to prevent her from giving evidence on

:32:46. > :32:50.her findings to the Assembly's Health Committee. And Carwyn Jones

:32:51. > :32:55.even took the time to criticise her during First Minister's Question

:32:56. > :33:04.Time. It is a disgrace and he should apologise.

:33:05. > :33:11.Carwyn Jones and Welsh Labour may have no respect for Ann Clwyd but we

:33:12. > :33:14.do and I want you to stand and join me in paying tribute to her, a true

:33:15. > :33:35.champion of our National Health Service.

:33:36. > :33:49.Vaughan, it's not very often that a Labour MP gets a standing ovation at

:33:50. > :33:55.a Conservative Party conference. Yes, and I'm not really sure how Ann

:33:56. > :34:07.Clwyd will feel about that. But the point is that her interventions have

:34:08. > :34:12.enabled the Conservatives to say that it is a Labour MP bringing up

:34:13. > :34:22.these issues so it doesn't look likely to -- like a political

:34:23. > :34:24.tactic. Labour say they can't investigate the things she is

:34:25. > :34:30.complaining about because she won't give them evidence. There is a deep

:34:31. > :34:36.and abiding frustration in the Welsh government about the situation. But

:34:37. > :34:44.there is now showing -- no sign she will stop speaking out. Just before

:34:45. > :34:54.Jeremy Hunt was speaking, there was a publication of a report by the

:34:55. > :34:59.Nuffield Trust which said that the NHS was not lagging behind the rest

:35:00. > :35:07.of the UK. Will that give the government 's cover? Well, it is

:35:08. > :35:12.charting the successes and failures of their NHS in all parts of the UK

:35:13. > :35:16.and the conclusion it comes to is that while the health policies of

:35:17. > :35:23.the various parts of the UK have diverged, the actual out comes have

:35:24. > :35:30.not been too different. Jeremy Hunt mentioned some findings of things

:35:31. > :35:35.that have altered in Wales, waiting times, hospital infections and so

:35:36. > :35:39.on. There are things in there that the Conservatives can pick an but if

:35:40. > :35:45.you look at the overall conclusion of the report then the Welsh

:35:46. > :35:52.government can say that the thrust of it is that our health service is

:35:53. > :35:57.as good as the ones in the rest of the UK and that the Westminster

:35:58. > :36:17.government and Conservatives are cherry picking.

:36:18. > :36:24.One of the candidates for the European elections is with me now,

:36:25. > :36:30.Kay Swinburne. Last year you had a great result, topping the poll.

:36:31. > :36:36.Could you do that this year? We are at the stage where every vote counts

:36:37. > :36:41.for Wales. Typically, there is a low turnout so there are all sorts of

:36:42. > :36:44.results possible. This weekend has been a great chance for me to get my

:36:45. > :36:50.activists motivated and they are ready to go to work. Does a low

:36:51. > :36:56.turnout work in your favour? I would like to think that my voters want to

:36:57. > :37:01.come out and do their democratic duty so I would like to get them all

:37:02. > :37:04.motivated to do that. It is really important and I think we have tried

:37:05. > :37:09.this weekend to explain to people that we are giving them a real

:37:10. > :37:14.choice in the European election that if you want to have a say on Europe

:37:15. > :37:21.and reforms then the only party that can deliver it is the Conservatives.

:37:22. > :37:27.Well, people know there could be a referendum with Labour as well. Ed

:37:28. > :37:34.Miliband announced a policy recently that there could be a referendum if

:37:35. > :37:39.more powers were taken to Brussels. We are looking for reform of EU

:37:40. > :37:43.institutions and giving people a choice of whether they want to be

:37:44. > :37:47.part of that new deal. If you want a change in Europe, only party

:37:48. > :37:53.promising that before the end of 2017 is the Conservatives. It is

:37:54. > :38:02.about the UK taking control, not Brussels, over when we decide. It is

:38:03. > :38:06.a difficult topic for the Conservatives traditionally and we

:38:07. > :38:11.saw a real struggle trying to get to this policy on a referendum. Do

:38:12. > :38:16.people know where they stand? The message at the moment is very

:38:17. > :38:21.simple. We will deliver real change in Europe and give people they say.

:38:22. > :38:32.For the first time in 40 years. Labour and the Liberals will not

:38:33. > :38:37.give you say. The only party that can give you that chance is the

:38:38. > :38:43.Conservatives. UKIP want Britain out of the EU. Do you sense there is a

:38:44. > :38:52.strong euro scepticism in Wales? There is a lot of confusion as to

:38:53. > :38:57.what the role of the Brussels elite are and I think that is something we

:38:58. > :39:10.can help clear up. But ultimately this is about having the UK... The

:39:11. > :39:15.UK population having a say. But whether they are Eurosceptic or not

:39:16. > :39:20.many people feel strongly about keeping a relationship with Europe.

:39:21. > :39:23.I think it is the people that know best and we should trust them to

:39:24. > :39:31.make a decision on whether or not we stay or go and that should be up to

:39:32. > :39:37.the individuals on the street. The main theme of the conference seems

:39:38. > :39:41.to be attacking the Welsh government's delivery on public

:39:42. > :39:46.services. That is quite negative. How does that affect your campaign?

:39:47. > :39:52.We have been trying to highlight who is responsible for what at each

:39:53. > :39:56.level of Welsh government. There are two Mac governments who have major

:39:57. > :40:00.influence. The government in Westminster has certain

:40:01. > :40:07.responsibilities and overall responsibility for policy in major

:40:08. > :40:14.things like taxation and development and status in the rest of the world.

:40:15. > :40:20.The two governments are squabbling over time. Does that put people

:40:21. > :40:24.off? We are highlighting who is responsible for which part. The NHS

:40:25. > :40:29.and education in Wales are not performing right now. They are

:40:30. > :40:34.always at the top of the list of people's concerns. Everyone was

:40:35. > :40:43.confused as to who is delivering that service in Wales. Ultimately,

:40:44. > :40:49.we have drawn attention to where responsibility lies for the

:40:50. > :40:55.different parts of the policy in devolved government and it is up to

:40:56. > :41:04.Carwyn Jones to say how we use going to improve health and education.

:41:05. > :41:09.Ultimately, it is their failures and not anything to do with criticism.

:41:10. > :41:16.The criticism is positive for the people in Wales. You are not worried

:41:17. > :41:21.that this relentless criticism isn't going too far? Carwyn Jones is

:41:22. > :41:30.trying to say you are attacking Wales. We are not. We are standing

:41:31. > :41:33.up for future generations in education and standing up for the

:41:34. > :41:43.health service. That is not attacking. Labour have a loss -- a

:41:44. > :41:50.lot to answer for. They need to say how they are going to improve

:41:51. > :41:57.things. Until they start to put those measures on the table and

:41:58. > :42:03.debate them, we will continue. The Welsh people expect us to continue

:42:04. > :42:14.to critique them. Thank you very much.

:42:15. > :42:17.The Wales Office minister Stephen Crabb spoke yesterday. He said the

:42:18. > :42:20.UK coalition government had launched the most ambitious and effective

:42:21. > :42:23.welfare reform programme the country had ever seen.

:42:24. > :42:26.We won't sit back while there are still 91,000 children in Wales

:42:27. > :42:29.growing up in homes where no-one works. Where entire communities are

:42:30. > :42:34.locked into cycles of dependency, and while unemployment is handed

:42:35. > :42:39.down from generation to generation. And so to the long-term unemployed,

:42:40. > :42:45.we say this: We want this to be your economic recovery, too. And when

:42:46. > :42:48.Labour MPs set out to trash our work experience programme, which gives

:42:49. > :42:54.young lads and girls in their very own constituencies their first foot

:42:55. > :42:58.on the jobs ladder... When they try to undermine our work programme,

:42:59. > :43:01.which gives new hope to those who have been unemployed the longest...

:43:02. > :43:04.When they sit in the House of Commons with their arms folded,

:43:05. > :43:07.looking glum when the latest drop in unemployment is announced, and can't

:43:08. > :43:11.bring themselves to welcome the record numbers of people now in work

:43:12. > :43:18.across our country, you have to ask yourself: What on earth did these

:43:19. > :43:21.people come into politics for? What is it about this so-called Labour

:43:22. > :43:24.Party that they don't get excited about men and women in their own

:43:25. > :43:31.constituencies benefiting from more work opportunities? Conference, we

:43:32. > :43:36.are getting Wales back to work, because we are ambitious for Wales.

:43:37. > :43:39.And we know, ladies and gentlemen, that the 21st Century belongs to

:43:40. > :43:42.those economies with the greatest productivity, the best educated and

:43:43. > :43:50.the most skilled workforce, with the most efficient and competitive

:43:51. > :43:51.businesses. Economies which are outward-looking, not insular,

:43:52. > :43:59.supported by world-class infrastructure that links them to a

:44:00. > :44:03.fast-moving global marketplace. And I really believe that Wales has the

:44:04. > :44:07.potential to be such an economy. Yes, as part of a successful and

:44:08. > :44:13.growing United Kingdom, but also within the United Kingdom we can be

:44:14. > :44:17.a beacon of economic success. Yes, we have a long way to go. For too

:44:18. > :44:20.long, Wales has been held back by underinvestment, by lack of

:44:21. > :44:25.ambition, and by the politics of the begging bowl that Carwyn Jones uses

:44:26. > :44:31.to hide behind time and time again. But Wales deserves better. Wales

:44:32. > :44:35.deserve so much better. And, Conference, I believe the choice has

:44:36. > :44:38.never been clearer. There is one party, and only one party, that has

:44:39. > :44:42.the value, the vision, and the ambition to move Wales forward, to

:44:43. > :44:43.build a stronger economy, and give the people of Wales the opportunity

:44:44. > :45:03.for success that they deserve. This morning, the party's leader in

:45:04. > :45:10.the Assembly Andrew RT Davies took centre stage. Here is his conference

:45:11. > :45:16.speech. Thank you very much. It is a real

:45:17. > :45:19.pleasure to be here this morning. And in particular to see so many

:45:20. > :45:22.friends and colleagues who have joined us here to celebrate what the

:45:23. > :45:27.Welsh Conservative party is doing and to show the strength of what we

:45:28. > :45:30.can do here in Wales. I lead a very dedicated and passionate team in the

:45:31. > :45:34.National Assembly for Wales and I'm extremely proud of each and every

:45:35. > :45:38.one of them for the way they tackle Labour week in, week out. But not

:45:39. > :45:46.just tackling their failure, always offering an alternative. Because a

:45:47. > :45:50.grown-up party has to be able to offer an alternative, a sight of

:45:51. > :45:55.what we would do if we were in government. That is what we have

:45:56. > :45:59.been doing over the last 12 months since we last met in Swansea. I also

:46:00. > :46:04.want to thank you, the activists, for what you do for our great party.

:46:05. > :46:08.We are not the Labour Party, thank goodness. We can't rely on Len

:46:09. > :46:12.McCluskey sending down hundreds of thousands of pounds to pay for our

:46:13. > :46:15.activities. We rely on you, the small donations that you make and

:46:16. > :46:19.the tea and coffee mornings that you hold and the way you deliver our

:46:20. > :46:25.leaflets and help us shape our policies. And ultimately we are a

:46:26. > :46:28.party that is embedded in our communities because we have members

:46:29. > :46:35.from across Wales representing everyone in the National Assembly

:46:36. > :46:39.for Wales. I also want to say, before I go any further, that here

:46:40. > :46:42.in North Wales it is wholly appropriate that we pay tribute to

:46:43. > :46:56.the great legacy that Lord Wyn Roberts left from his time in

:46:57. > :47:00.government. He was an inspirational example of what Conservatives can do

:47:01. > :47:03.when they get into government. How they have empathy with their

:47:04. > :47:06.communities and bring their expertise to bear and how they

:47:07. > :47:12.improve the lives of the people they represent. Right up until his last

:47:13. > :47:16.breath, he was thinking not what he could do for himself but what he

:47:17. > :47:24.could do for other people and the improvements he could make for them.

:47:25. > :47:27.He's an inspiration to us all and it is to see his successor is here

:47:28. > :47:51.today making sure that the Conservative torch is held high in

:47:52. > :47:56.Aberconwy. I also want to say a big thank you to my deputy Paul Davies

:47:57. > :48:04.in the National Assembly. I hope all of great debt of gratitude. I want

:48:05. > :48:16.to pay.....a big thank you for everything he has done. We are in a

:48:17. > :48:21.monumental year this year. We have European elections in May, the

:48:22. > :48:26.Scottish referendum in September. We have the general election next year

:48:27. > :48:30.in May 2015. On my way to the Conference yesterday, I went through

:48:31. > :48:37.many towns and villages and each one had its own war memorial. We are

:48:38. > :48:41.also reflecting on the 100th anniversary of the First World War.

:48:42. > :48:44.On those memorials were the names of men who put themselves forward to

:48:45. > :49:01.fight for their country and the beliefs that they held dear to their

:49:02. > :49:05.heart over 100 years ago. They believed in the union of the United

:49:06. > :49:08.Kingdom of Great Britain. They believed in the freedoms of this

:49:09. > :49:11.great country and they were prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice over

:49:12. > :49:15.100 years ago. On those memorials, there are names of successors who

:49:16. > :49:18.had to go to war to fight for our principles. The Second World War,

:49:19. > :49:21.the Korean War, the Falklands War and any other conflict that our

:49:22. > :49:24.great armed services have been fighting across the globe. Wales has

:49:25. > :49:31.a great tradition of providing service men and women to the Armed

:49:32. > :49:34.Forces of this great country. What defines our armed services, what

:49:35. > :49:37.defines our beliefs is the belief that the union of the United Kingdom

:49:38. > :49:45.is the most successful union the world has ever seen. It is the

:49:46. > :49:49.greatest trading nation that has come together to trade across the

:49:50. > :49:53.globe. It is the inspiration for democracy across much of the globe.

:49:54. > :49:56.Above all, the principles that we hold dear as Conservatives and

:49:57. > :50:00.Unionists are what we are fighting to project in Scotland so that

:50:01. > :50:07.Scotland will stay within the union of the United Kingdom. And I want to

:50:08. > :50:10.make sure that we offer David and Ruth and all our Scottish cousins

:50:11. > :50:15.the total support that they require to make sure that Scotland knows the

:50:16. > :50:18.family of the rest of the UK want them with us and want to stay as one

:50:19. > :50:22.United Kingdom, holding dear the values the people who laid down

:50:23. > :50:33.their lives to protect in conflicts around the globe. I know you want to

:50:34. > :50:37.send that message out and I want you to make sure that David knows when

:50:38. > :50:48.he goes back to Scotland that he has our support about protecting the

:50:49. > :50:55.union. Wales is a country of great ambition. The people of Wales are

:50:56. > :50:58.proud of their communities. We are proud of our institutions, our

:50:59. > :51:01.health service, our education system, the businesses that make up

:51:02. > :51:05.the communities across this great country of ours. Above all, what we

:51:06. > :51:09.want to do as Welsh Conservatives is make sure that people know that we

:51:10. > :51:17.can do so much better with a change of leadership in the National

:51:18. > :51:20.Assembly. The NHS's best and most precious resource are the staff that

:51:21. > :51:24.operate the NHS day in, day out, turning up tirelessly to make sure

:51:25. > :51:38.that when we need them they are there for us. We owe them a great

:51:39. > :51:41.debt of gratitude. Our teachers, along with our students, are the

:51:42. > :51:45.greatest asset that our education system has to provide that learning

:51:46. > :51:53.base for the future economy that we require in the 21st century. Our

:51:54. > :51:56.teachers are the ones who inspire our students, inspire our pupils to

:51:57. > :52:03.reach for the skies and ultimately achieve their full potential. But,

:52:04. > :52:06.sadly, they are shackled by the lack of ambition from a tired, lazy

:52:07. > :52:14.Labour Government that fails to deliver generation after generation.

:52:15. > :52:18.This is a Government that has been in power for 14 years. And, on our

:52:19. > :52:25.educational outcomes, they have a damning record of failure and lack

:52:26. > :52:29.of achievement. And that is why I am so proud of what Angela Burns is

:52:30. > :52:32.doing in the field of education to promote the best of grammar schools,

:52:33. > :52:36.to promote the best of the teaching profession, with the announcement

:52:37. > :52:40.that she made yesterday. And, above all, making sure that no child is

:52:41. > :52:46.left behind, and every child is able to reach their full potential.

:52:47. > :52:49.Because that is what we, as Conservatives, are about, not

:52:50. > :52:52.holding people back but empowering those people to go forward and

:52:53. > :52:56.actually build their careers so that we can build a strong Wales in the

:52:57. > :52:59.United Kingdom of Great Britain. And that is what Conservatism is about,

:53:00. > :53:08.empowering people and empowering individuals. And that is why Angela,

:53:09. > :53:12.in the run-up to 2016, will be bringing a host of ideas forward

:53:13. > :53:15.that will break the Labour yoke, the lazy Labour yoke in education that

:53:16. > :53:30.has let our children and let our students down. But, when it comes to

:53:31. > :53:36.it, we must build a coalition of ideas. We must build a coalition

:53:37. > :53:40.that ultimately will take the best talents in all parts of our society

:53:41. > :53:44.in Wales so that we can build a strong Wales that it is an example

:53:45. > :53:48.to the rest of the United Kingdom, whether it is in health, the

:53:49. > :53:57.economy, or whether it is in any field... Rather than Wales propping

:53:58. > :54:02.up those league tables because of what lazy Labour have been doing to

:54:03. > :54:05.Wales for 14 years. We want to inspire people that they have that

:54:06. > :54:08.potential, they have that belief, and what we've seen when

:54:09. > :54:11.Conservatives were in power in Wales is an example, as Chris Salmon

:54:12. > :54:14.showed us yesterday, our Police and Crime Commissioner in the

:54:15. > :54:17.Dyfed-Powys area, outlining how he has, in a short period of time, in

:54:18. > :54:31.18 months, transformed the Force's objectives and outcomes. I stand

:54:32. > :54:34.shoulder to shoulder. When Chris stood on this platform yesterday and

:54:35. > :54:38.said, "We have the best police force in the world. We have the bravest

:54:39. > :54:47.officers serving our communities day in, day out, protecting us from some

:54:48. > :54:51.of the evils of modern society". And again, as Welsh Conservatives, we

:54:52. > :54:55.owe our men and women in the police force a huge debt of gratitude for

:54:56. > :55:07.what they do for us, day in, day out, across this country. And that

:55:08. > :55:10.is why, for the last 18 months, under my leadership in the Assembly,

:55:11. > :55:16.we have not been frightened to push the boundaries. To challenge Labour,

:55:17. > :55:21.who have been in Government for so long here in Wales. We have been

:55:22. > :55:24.prepared to bring forward the ideas that will regenerate our high

:55:25. > :55:30.streets, that will get money flowing into our small businesses. That will

:55:31. > :55:33.have the five-point action plan for agriculture, that will bring forward

:55:34. > :55:38.a housing strategy that will build more homes for people in Wales. The

:55:39. > :55:43.idea of home ownership, the belief of homeownership, is a founding

:55:44. > :55:48.principle of our party. It's an empowering principle of our party.

:55:49. > :55:51.The greatest peacetime Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, laid

:55:52. > :55:59.that down as one of the key foundations. And this last week has

:56:00. > :56:03.been the first anniversary of her death, and when I went into politics

:56:04. > :56:08.I shaped much of my thinking on what Margaret Thatcher's thinking was

:56:09. > :56:12.when she was a Prime Minister. When I went to school in '79, you didn't

:56:13. > :56:17.know whether you could turn up to school because we were in the Winter

:56:18. > :56:20.of Discontent. We didn't know whether the heating lorry was

:56:21. > :56:24.turning up with the heating fuel, or the food lorry was turning up to

:56:25. > :56:28.stock the canteen. You went on a day-to-day basis to know whether you

:56:29. > :56:31.could turn up to be educated. By the time Margaret Thatcher left office,

:56:32. > :56:35.this country was not the sick man of Europe, it was the beacon of hope

:56:36. > :56:48.and prosperity that we need to build here in Wales. And whilst the

:56:49. > :56:52.cameras are rolling, the journalists are standing at the back and Labour

:56:53. > :56:56.are most probably in Transport House saying, "There is Andrew RT talking

:56:57. > :57:01.about Margaret Thatcher. We are going to have him for this.". I

:57:02. > :57:05.don't give a damn. Because I am proud to say that I am a member of

:57:06. > :57:09.the same party that she led so successfully and led this country to

:57:10. > :57:12.so much success. That is what we should be out there telling the

:57:13. > :57:16.people of Wales, telling the people of Great Britain: We have hope, we

:57:17. > :57:20.have ambition and, above all, we have hope and ambition for the

:57:21. > :57:27.country we seek to lead, and that is why we are in politics. As the Prime

:57:28. > :57:31.Minister said yesterday, if you have believe, you can achieve anything in

:57:32. > :57:36.the world, and ultimately that is what we as Conservatives have to

:57:37. > :57:40.have here in Wales. We have Kay Swinburne, who is an exemplar of

:57:41. > :57:52.what should be a good MEP in Brussels. Fighting tirelessly to

:57:53. > :57:57.improve the economic outcomes of Wales, improve the profile of Wales.

:57:58. > :58:07.Never sitting back, always taking the challenge. Offering that

:58:08. > :58:11.challenge and picking up the mantle were required to promote Wales. We

:58:12. > :58:15.must make sure that she is back after the European elections. As has

:58:16. > :58:18.been said time and time again, you can't take it for granted. If you

:58:19. > :58:23.sit on your backside, it's not going to happen. You need to get out of

:58:24. > :58:27.there, promote the great work that Kay Swinburne has done, promote what

:58:28. > :58:30.the team are doing. And, as a farmer, I know that what she has

:58:31. > :58:34.done in Europe for agriculture has benefited every single farm across

:58:35. > :58:38.Wales and across the UK and we need to make sure that over the next five

:58:39. > :58:41.years we have that strong voice speaking out for Welsh industry,

:58:42. > :58:44.speaking out for rural Wales and, as was outlined yesterday, she was

:58:45. > :58:47.directly responsible for those new jobs in Wrexham that will replace

:58:48. > :58:58.the jobs lost when First Milk pulled out of there and Sharps had to close

:58:59. > :59:00.their solar panel. That is positive representation, not the negative

:59:01. > :59:08.representation some parties would have out in Brussels. We will work

:59:09. > :59:12.to make sure that you are delivered back in May, because you're simply

:59:13. > :59:21.the best MEP that Wales could have representing it in Europe.

:59:22. > :59:29.APPLAUSE And then we have the general

:59:30. > :59:34.election. I don't know about you, but I am

:59:35. > :59:40.sick to death of listening to Nick Clegg and the liberal minnows in the

:59:41. > :59:46.coalition. I want to make sure that we get a majority Conservative

:59:47. > :59:49.Government after May of next year. I want to see David and Samantha

:59:50. > :59:57.Cameron on the steps at Downing Street as a majority leader,

:59:58. > :00:00.delivering Conservative principles, delivering the Conservative

:00:01. > :00:03.manifesto, so that we can really unshackle the potential of this

:00:04. > :00:10.great country of ours. But we won't do that unless we work, unless we

:00:11. > :00:14.inspire, and above all unless we deliver, and that, over the next 12

:00:15. > :00:21.months, has to be our goal. Deliver big to read a page, deliver victory

:00:22. > :00:24.in the Scottish referendum, and automatically deliver a bigotry of

:00:25. > :00:31.huge proportions in May of next year. How on earth can anyone

:00:32. > :00:39.contemplate on giving back the keys to the people who wrecked our

:00:40. > :00:42.economy in the 2010, the lead up to the 2010 general election? It is

:00:43. > :00:47.utter madness, but that is what Labour are bubbling. They are

:00:48. > :00:52.offering you the same people and saying, after all the good work the

:00:53. > :00:54.people in Westminster have put together, delivering the fastest

:00:55. > :00:59.economic growth that this country has had in many a year, the fastest

:01:00. > :01:03.economic growth in the Western world, record numbers of

:01:04. > :01:07.employment, record numbers of people taken out of tax, stability that has

:01:08. > :01:15.delivered a record low interest rates, and you want to throw all of

:01:16. > :01:20.that away? We have falling crime, written on the world stage. In

:01:21. > :01:23.Wales, we will host the NATO summit in south-east Wales. We have

:01:24. > :01:29.electrification coming to South Wales, we have the positive news in

:01:30. > :01:33.Anglesey. All these things happening and we need to remind each and every

:01:34. > :01:37.one of the voters of Wales so that people like Craig Williams in

:01:38. > :01:44.Cardiff North of Byron Davies in Gower, Chris Davies in Wrexham, our

:01:45. > :01:50.eight MPs, James Davies here and Mark Isherwood, are returned and

:01:51. > :02:06.returned to a stronger conservative boys in May 2016. -- Conservative

:02:07. > :02:11.voice. But you won't do any of that unless you believe we can do it. I

:02:12. > :02:18.am not a career politician. I never thought I would go into politics.

:02:19. > :02:28.When I got up this morning the first person I formed was my son to ask

:02:29. > :02:34.him about the farm. That was the career I had mapped out for myself.

:02:35. > :02:39.I got into politics because I felt the community that I came from, the

:02:40. > :02:46.community that I cared about was under threat for its very existence.

:02:47. > :02:52.I hope in the short time I've been in politics I have made a

:02:53. > :02:59.difference. I believe I have and I want my keen to keep believing that

:03:00. > :03:04.we can keep on making a difference. We can build the coalition of ideals

:03:05. > :03:12.we need to solve the problems of Wales. The activists, members and

:03:13. > :03:18.people all needs to have that belief that after the taking for granted of

:03:19. > :03:25.Wales for so many years by a lazy, tired Labour government, we are the

:03:26. > :03:39.alternative. There is no point in looking at Plaid Cymru because they

:03:40. > :03:42.are walking around saying -- they're not walking around saying everything

:03:43. > :03:47.is going to be good but they want to break up the UK. They know it is

:03:48. > :03:52.unpopular because only 5% of the people in Wales will vote for it. We

:03:53. > :03:59.must tell people that that is what Plaid Cymru stand for, ripping up

:04:00. > :04:05.what 95% of the people of Wales hold dear. I could spend some time

:04:06. > :04:14.telling you what the Liberal Democrats stand for but I don't know

:04:15. > :04:22.and I don't think they know either. That should shorten the speech

:04:23. > :04:28.somewhat. My message today and my message for the next 365 days

:04:29. > :04:36.leading up to the next conference is that we have achieved so much in

:04:37. > :04:50.Europe, we can achieve so much with a positive outcome in the Scottish

:04:51. > :04:56.referendum. I think that they told David they wouldn't send them to the

:04:57. > :05:03.toughest areas in Glasgow but we are Welsh, we don't mind, if we have to

:05:04. > :05:14.go there, we'll go there. And by the way, there is 19 and a half stone of

:05:15. > :05:20.Welsh beast prepared to go. I lied to the press when I said I was 19

:05:21. > :05:35.stone. I weighed myself and I am 19 stone and ten pounds. We can achieve

:05:36. > :05:40.so much more but we have to have that belief and conviction. I

:05:41. > :05:45.believe we can have the greatest public services in the UK, if not

:05:46. > :05:49.the world, with the most dedicated professionals and whether it is the

:05:50. > :05:56.health service, education or police forces. We can unlock the potential

:05:57. > :06:04.in every man, woman and child in Wales. We have the solution is to do

:06:05. > :06:11.that. Rise up, Conservatives, rise up, Welsh Conservatives, and

:06:12. > :06:20.deliverables solutions. Do you believe you can do it? Yes! If

:06:21. > :06:31.you're that quiet, no one will hear you. Yes or no? Yes! That's better.

:06:32. > :06:39.Don't lose your voice. I'll be back next year.

:06:40. > :06:45.That was Andrew RT Davies addressing the conference and he joins us now.

:06:46. > :06:54.Good afternoon. Good afternoon. A lot has been made of the respect

:06:55. > :06:58.agenda by David Cameron when it comes to the relations between the

:06:59. > :07:07.UK and Welsh governments. Is that agenda still being respected? I

:07:08. > :07:12.think so. We have to governments -- two governments but the Welsh

:07:13. > :07:17.governments seem to be picking a fight in every corner. All the

:07:18. > :07:26.correspondence shows that the then Welsh transport ministers agreed in

:07:27. > :07:31.the monetary commitment to making electrician -- electrification

:07:32. > :07:34.happen and now they are trying to wriggle out of it. Carwyn Jones is

:07:35. > :07:41.time to pick a political fight instead of doing what is in Wales'

:07:42. > :07:48.best interests. They should be delivering the economic agreements

:07:49. > :08:02.that allow it to be the fastest-growing economy in Europe.

:08:03. > :08:08.The Prime Minister was taking Ed Miliband that has word when he said

:08:09. > :08:11.compare and contrast our actions in Wales if we were to form a majority

:08:12. > :08:21.government after the general election. Carwyn Jones is trying to

:08:22. > :08:24.project this is a war on Wales. That is not true. All the members of the

:08:25. > :08:30.Welsh Conservatives are proud Welsh men and women. Carwyn Jones is

:08:31. > :08:34.trying to turn things into a war and trying to deflect from his

:08:35. > :08:40.government's appalling record on health, education and the economy.

:08:41. > :08:44.This week, it was pointed out that there are massive failings in the

:08:45. > :08:47.education system and even Carwyn Jones was gracious enough to say

:08:48. > :09:00.they had taken their eye off the ball. And the Nuffield trust at

:09:01. > :09:04.their report -- had to their report. 14 years of Welsh Labour in control

:09:05. > :09:07.and Carwyn Jones has been First Minister for the last couple of

:09:08. > :09:13.years and we are not seeing the improvements the Welsh people

:09:14. > :09:18.require. Ed Miliband invited us to compare and contrast and we are

:09:19. > :09:26.holding them to account. The Prime Minister held him to his word and

:09:27. > :09:29.did so. On this court that Offa's Dyke is the line between life and

:09:30. > :09:39.death. It is pretty serious to say that. Would you advise people to

:09:40. > :09:46.steer clear from Wales on the back of that allegation? We have the most

:09:47. > :09:51.hard-working and dedicated NHS professionals you will find anywhere

:09:52. > :09:56.in the UK. We need to make sure that we can marry up the policy that the

:09:57. > :10:00.Welsh government is executing to run the NHS to the dedication and

:10:01. > :10:06.professionalism of the staff and everyone who is committed to the

:10:07. > :10:12.well-being of the NHS. The failure of some NHS, cancer waiting times,

:10:13. > :10:16.diagnostic waiting times, access to cancer drugs, are down to the policy

:10:17. > :10:19.failings of the Welsh government and the decisions they took over

:10:20. > :10:34.financing the Welsh government -- NHS. The decision was taken to

:10:35. > :10:41.protect NHS budget in all the other UK governments. Carwyn Jones and his

:10:42. > :10:44.Labour colleagues made the wrong choice two years ago and now spin

:10:45. > :10:53.doctors are trying to deflect criticism. In the Nuffield trust

:10:54. > :10:59.report it was said that the performance gap that in England of

:11:00. > :11:04.the UK and there is little sign that one country is moving ahead of the

:11:05. > :11:11.others. It is not as grim a picture as you are painting, is it? There

:11:12. > :11:21.are real challenges in the Welsh NHS. Response times, and the ability

:11:22. > :11:24.to hit those times. We have a failure of policy and a failure of

:11:25. > :11:29.successive health ministers and in particular Carwyn Jones delivering

:11:30. > :11:41.his mantra of delivery steering wheels. When he took over --

:11:42. > :11:49.delivery in Wales. Carwyn Jones had not delivered for the NHS and people

:11:50. > :11:54.are experiencing that every day and staff are experiencing pressure is

:11:55. > :12:03.on them. The Welsh Conservatives would offer a clear alternative that

:12:04. > :12:06.Wales could pursue. We would protect health spending, making sure the NHS

:12:07. > :12:13.is accountable and delivering for the people of Wales whether it be an

:12:14. > :12:17.education, health or the economy. The people of Wales have had enough

:12:18. > :12:22.excuses. They now want solutions so they can be at the top of the tree

:12:23. > :12:28.and not propping up the bottom of it. By ring fencing the health

:12:29. > :12:36.budget, there would be cuts to the education budget. Well, ultimately,

:12:37. > :12:42.some difficult decisions must be taken but we mapped out how we would

:12:43. > :12:49.make our choices will stop if you -- our choices. If you directly fund

:12:50. > :12:56.schools you can free up ?100 million in education budget. You would

:12:57. > :12:59.empower communities, teachers, pupils and governors to drive up

:13:00. > :13:09.standards by offering choice in the education system. Carwyn Jones's

:13:10. > :13:17.leadership manifesto would protect education budget by 1%. But we are

:13:18. > :13:27.seeing cuts. It was announced many secondary schools would face cuts in

:13:28. > :13:34.my area. There are are falling standards. It is the whole economy

:13:35. > :13:40.of Wales which will suffer because we won't turn out the graduates we

:13:41. > :13:48.require to drive the economy. Carwyn Jones is spinning the message. We

:13:49. > :13:58.are offering a clear alternative to drive standards up, delivery forward

:13:59. > :14:02.and give Wales a better deal. You mentioned having a coalition of

:14:03. > :14:08.ideals. Does that mean a closer working relationship with the other

:14:09. > :14:13.parties in the Assembly? One of the problems with delivery in Wales is

:14:14. > :14:19.that Labour believe they have a divine right to rule. Every now and

:14:20. > :14:25.then, we will reach out to another party to strike a deal but they will

:14:26. > :14:33.not tolerate any other thinking and that is what has driven us at this

:14:34. > :14:36.cul-de-sac. I believe Welsh Conservatives are mature enough to

:14:37. > :14:41.look at that coalition of ideas and look at where the best ideas come

:14:42. > :14:50.from. Does that mean working with other parties? Let me finish. It

:14:51. > :14:55.means reaching out to anyone who has the best interest of the people of

:14:56. > :14:59.Wales at heart and wants to get us off the bottom of the league table

:15:00. > :15:04.whether it be in health, education or the economy, rather than this

:15:05. > :15:11.overlord mentality that Labour has two extinguish any sort of

:15:12. > :15:16.freethinking or alternative because they believe they have a divine

:15:17. > :15:25.right to rule Wales. That is not what the Welsh people want to stop

:15:26. > :15:29.-- want. They want politicians to work together to develop answers

:15:30. > :15:35.which will provide the solutions to problems they face every day. We

:15:36. > :15:40.will not be thanked if we do not reach out. You said you had no idea

:15:41. > :15:47.what the Lib Dems stand for and you ridiculed Plaid Cymru for their

:15:48. > :15:54.pro-independence stance. It seems it would be difficult for you to form a

:15:55. > :16:01.coalition of ideals with fame. -- then. You won't get a Unionist party

:16:02. > :16:12.to agree independence would be good for Wales. 95% of the population do

:16:13. > :16:18.not want to consider independence. In my speech I was saying that

:16:19. > :16:24.people need to know these things rather than having them blacked out.

:16:25. > :16:32.Where we can find new ideas to solve the problems in Wales and we have

:16:33. > :16:41.done that, finance, investment, regeneration, housing, agriculture,

:16:42. > :16:48.schools, I could go on, I don't believe another political party has

:16:49. > :16:53.set out such a radical policy. I believe I am a radical, progressive

:16:54. > :17:02.politician. I went into politics to make a difference. This conference

:17:03. > :17:07.has done that. Can I finish on one point of housekeeping? Recently used

:17:08. > :17:11.that some members of your shadow cabinet because they voted against

:17:12. > :17:15.your wishes. Was that a sign of weak leadership on your part, that you

:17:16. > :17:21.could not take them with you? Weak leadership? Ultimately what we have

:17:22. > :17:25.here today is a united party that has galvanised its help biting a

:17:26. > :17:30.strong, robust European election campaign, that has a slate of

:17:31. > :17:35.candidates that are second to none for the general election, and, above

:17:36. > :17:40.all, has a united assembly team delivering cancers that are required

:17:41. > :17:44.to some of the deep-seated problems after 14 years of Labour neglect in

:17:45. > :17:48.Wales. What the people of Wales want to see in their politicians are

:17:49. > :17:51.politicians with answers and politicians that are prepared to

:17:52. > :17:56.work together in the interests of this country, this great country of

:17:57. > :17:59.ours, and what I hope people will see in me is that politician putting

:18:00. > :18:03.forward the ideas and above all reaching out to make sure that we

:18:04. > :18:09.can break the yoke of Labour dependency and labour's backward

:18:10. > :18:16.looking ideology. Andrew RT Davies, thank you for your time.

:18:17. > :18:27.That was a robust defence of his leadership, and the party's ideas as

:18:28. > :18:39.well? The speech. Micro policy like, perhaps? Some of the key passages

:18:40. > :18:42.just were not fed. One suspects that Andrew RT Davies does have a

:18:43. > :18:46.tendency to speak slightly off-the-cuff, to go off piste, but

:18:47. > :18:50.one suspects there were some key messages that he was meant to

:18:51. > :18:55.include in that speech that did not get included. It went down well in

:18:56. > :19:00.the hall, he knows how to feed a Conservative audience, but looking

:19:01. > :19:04.from outside the hall there was a surprising lack of content in that

:19:05. > :19:10.speech. At times it was almost a stream of consciousness. Where has

:19:11. > :19:13.that spat, if you like, between himself and some members of the

:19:14. > :19:17.shadow cabinet left him in terms of leadership? Is he stronger or weaker

:19:18. > :19:23.as a consequence? That is an interesting question. In terms of

:19:24. > :19:29.the assembly group, the ill feeling has died down a bit but it is still

:19:30. > :19:33.there. It varies amongst which one of the excommunicated four you talk

:19:34. > :19:39.to, but there are still some bearing grudges. There is still ill feeling

:19:40. > :19:43.I think between Andrew RT Davies and parts of what the Conservative call

:19:44. > :19:48.the voluntary party, the grassroots. Some of them are very, very angry,

:19:49. > :19:53.because baby bees four people were just sacked for following the

:19:54. > :19:58.party's UK national policy. I think it is hard to say it has left Andrew

:19:59. > :20:02.RT Davies anything other than weakened as a leader. Having said

:20:03. > :20:05.that, I don't think he is currently under any threat as a leader, partly

:20:06. > :20:10.because there are no other alternatives.

:20:11. > :20:15.Another of this morning's speaketh of the work and pensions secretary

:20:16. > :20:19.Iain Duncan Smith. He outlined what welfare reform is all about.

:20:20. > :20:22.It's not about facts and figures. It's really not about individual

:20:23. > :20:25.items that I list and I've talked about. Welfare reform is more than

:20:26. > :20:29.that. It's about a cultural shift. It's about getting Britain back to

:20:30. > :20:33.the idea that work is at the heart of everything we do. That your

:20:34. > :20:35.aspiration and your hope for your family is that work should play a

:20:36. > :20:39.significant part. That children should grow up in households where

:20:40. > :20:42.they see people go to work, in communities where people put

:20:43. > :20:45.something back, because they are now independent of the state. From

:20:46. > :20:50.dependence to independence is a journey, we need to be with them on

:20:51. > :20:56.that journey all the while. This is what the reforms are about. And let

:20:57. > :21:01.me just say, as I conclude on this, here in Wales... My education

:21:02. > :21:05.started not far from here, over on the island of Anglesey. I spent

:21:06. > :21:10.almost all of my secondary education here in Wales. I have a fondness and

:21:11. > :21:17.a love for this country which goes back right to my childhood. And I

:21:18. > :21:22.hated seeing this country languish. Its unemployment statistics poor,

:21:23. > :21:26.its activity rates too low. And as we see this change, these are not

:21:27. > :21:29.just statistics to me, these are important because they are human

:21:30. > :21:32.beings, they are people now returning back to that pride and

:21:33. > :21:35.self-assurance that Wales was so significant in the past for, and the

:21:36. > :21:40.things that their ancestors have produced now, the next generation

:21:41. > :21:44.will see themselves doing this. Because I say to all of you, we are

:21:45. > :21:48.here today for one reason. I know what brings me here, what sustains

:21:49. > :21:54.me in politics and all that I do is a very simple concept. I am an

:21:55. > :21:58.absolute believer, I love this country, this United Kingdom. I love

:21:59. > :22:03.Wales, and England, and Scotland, I love Northern Ireland. This is my

:22:04. > :22:06.country and I am part of it. Born in Scotland, educated in Wales, living

:22:07. > :22:11.in England. This is my country, and it's my country and when I look at

:22:12. > :22:14.it, and I love it, I recognise that all of us here today are here for

:22:15. > :22:18.the same reason, really. All this stuff is facts and figures. We're

:22:19. > :22:22.here because we care for this country more than any other party.

:22:23. > :22:31.We care how it lives, we care how it works.

:22:32. > :22:36.Iain Duncan Smith talking about welfare reform. Let's go back to

:22:37. > :22:43.Llangollen where our reporter is joined by two AMs who want to become

:22:44. > :22:48.MPs. Yes, I'm joined by Byron Davis and

:22:49. > :22:53.Mark Isherwood, both members of the assembly but both standing to become

:22:54. > :22:58.MPs. Have you had a lot of things in Cardiff Bay? Not at all. I think it

:22:59. > :23:03.is time to take the Welsh message upto Westminster to really express

:23:04. > :23:10.the views that are frustrating most people at the moment. You have been

:23:11. > :23:16.an AM for a while now, is it a stepping stone to something bigger

:23:17. > :23:22.and better? 11 years is a long time to wait if it is simply a stepping

:23:23. > :23:25.stone. You are fed up, then? No, but I think it is vital that we have

:23:26. > :23:30.people in Westminster who understand how devolution really works, how the

:23:31. > :23:35.relationship between the government in Wales and the assembly really

:23:36. > :23:44.provides, and where responsibility lies. I do going for a promotion? It

:23:45. > :23:47.is a fair point, if you look at the Welsh Conservatives we have a track

:23:48. > :23:53.record of sending quality people to Westminster to represent the people

:23:54. > :23:57.of Wales. There has been a bit of disagreement in the Conservative

:23:58. > :24:01.party over tax devolution recently. Perhaps you two board, I have had

:24:02. > :24:07.enough, let's go and try our luck in Westminster. Could not be further

:24:08. > :24:13.from the truth, actually. Andrew RT Davies said that you are an

:24:14. > :24:17.impassioned group, but are you a united group? We are working

:24:18. > :24:22.together for the party and to make sure Wales has a good government.

:24:23. > :24:28.There was a rocky patch in February with Andrew RT Davies having to sack

:24:29. > :24:34.a couple of AMs. You past that now? We were selected for our seats 14,

:24:35. > :24:37.15 months ago, it had nothing to do with this. I have been here 11

:24:38. > :24:41.years, we have had ups and downs as all groups do but what wind is

:24:42. > :24:44.together is the commitment to the Welsh Conservative group in the

:24:45. > :24:49.assembly and working to scrutinise what is essentially a failed Welsh

:24:50. > :24:55.Labour government that is causing a huge amount of pain to the people of

:24:56. > :25:00.Wales. It is our job to hold the Welsh government to account. We are

:25:01. > :25:05.doing that. Thankfully now the media is beginning to show a bit more

:25:06. > :25:13.interest in the facts that are worrying, to say the least, but, no,

:25:14. > :25:18.I think we would go and have a pint together. Mr Farage is not the only

:25:19. > :25:24.politician who likes to have a pint. I usually pay! We have had a

:25:25. > :25:28.flavour of what will surely be a big part of the election campaign,

:25:29. > :25:32.rubbishing the record of the Welsh government. Is there a danger that

:25:33. > :25:37.this goes too far and becomes too negative? I am thinking of David

:25:38. > :25:42.Cameron's Offa's Dyke is the line between life and death. I don't

:25:43. > :25:47.think so. The government in Wales has been in power for a decade and

:25:48. > :25:49.they don't like scrutiny, clearly. We are holding them to task on

:25:50. > :25:55.health and education, finance, and they do not like it, so it is time

:25:56. > :25:59.to bring them under the spotlight. We are going in the right direction.

:26:00. > :26:03.You are not worried you are losing a sense of proportion here, talking

:26:04. > :26:07.about the line between life and death? I heard the word refugees

:26:08. > :26:13.used this morning in relation to Welsh patients being treated in

:26:14. > :26:17.English hospitals. 15,000 cancer patients had to travel over the

:26:18. > :26:21.border into England to be treated, I think it is disgraceful. So, yes, it

:26:22. > :26:28.has to be highlighted in a very severe way. You not worried it will

:26:29. > :26:32.backfire? Does this is as much for the benefit of English voters as

:26:33. > :26:35.Welsh voters. What David Cameron wants to do is tell people in

:26:36. > :26:41.England, look at what Labour does, look at Wales. Carwyn Jones simply

:26:42. > :26:45.seems unable to understand that Wales and the Labour Party are

:26:46. > :26:49.different things. It is our job to hold his government to account,

:26:50. > :26:54.because we care passionately for Wales. The issues we are

:26:55. > :26:58.highlighting we have been highlighting the gears in the

:26:59. > :27:01.assembly. It is simply now that the London media has finally caught up

:27:02. > :27:04.with what has been going on for far too long. The people running the

:27:05. > :27:09.Welsh government, many of them have been there in every single cabinet

:27:10. > :27:13.since the beginning of devolution, and yet they pass the book not only

:27:14. > :27:18.to Westminster but two predecessor government of which they were apart.

:27:19. > :27:23.Things ain't good and it is our job to expose that, not for the sake of

:27:24. > :27:26.causing problems or scoring points but because our constituency

:27:27. > :27:34.casework, the people who speak to us, bright to us, meet us in our

:27:35. > :27:39.offices and surgeries, have real problems and so these matters are

:27:40. > :27:43.now receiving... I am sorry to come back to it but when you hear David

:27:44. > :27:47.Cameron said that Offa's Dyke is the line between life and death, do you

:27:48. > :27:52.think, yes, that is the way I see it? I am concerned when people tell

:27:53. > :27:55.me about personal experiences that should not be happening in

:27:56. > :28:01.21st-century Wales, regardless of the current budgetary environment. I

:28:02. > :28:08.have spoken to medical practitioners on both sides of the border, and the

:28:09. > :28:12.hidden underlying policies to repatriate health services from

:28:13. > :28:16.across the border which were designed to serve his people in

:28:17. > :28:21.north-east Wales, is disgraceful. We are running out of time, but I want

:28:22. > :28:25.to ask, how do you feel about coalition with the Liberal

:28:26. > :28:28.Democrats? We have to look at what happened after the next election

:28:29. > :28:34.here in Wales. If that is the case, if we have to move forward in a

:28:35. > :28:37.coalition, then anything other than the Welsh government has to be

:28:38. > :28:41.better, because they have been in power for a long time and nothing

:28:42. > :28:44.has changed. They have wasted an awful lot of money, hundreds of

:28:45. > :28:47.millions of pounds on infrastructure, roadworks, it is

:28:48. > :28:51.about time they were brought to account, and that is what we are

:28:52. > :28:57.doing. That is why I came into this business, to scrutinise. Thanks for

:28:58. > :28:59.joining us. Assembly Members standing to become

:29:00. > :29:04.members of Parliament, they would not be the first Conservative

:29:05. > :29:13.assembly members to trade Cardiff Bay for Westminster, but they? David

:29:14. > :29:16.Davis and Alun Cairns were both AMs, Glyn babies slightly different in

:29:17. > :29:21.that he had already lost his seat in the assembly. But if you think back,

:29:22. > :29:30.in the early days it was two-way traffic. There were MPs who moved

:29:31. > :29:37.over to the assembly, and they did bring a certain gravitas to the

:29:38. > :29:41.assembly in those early years. We have not seen anyone coming the

:29:42. > :29:46.other way for a long time. We may see that with Adam Price, who is

:29:47. > :29:51.standing for Plaid Cymru, but it does seem to suggest the traffic is

:29:52. > :29:55.one way, that people after a fair old time in the assembly get bored

:29:56. > :30:01.with it and feel the need for a new challenge. With the Conservatives in

:30:02. > :30:05.particular, not that I want to speed on their behalf, is there a sense

:30:06. > :30:08.they might be thinking they will have a better opportunity to

:30:09. > :30:15.influence policies in Westminster than in Cardiff a? That is the

:30:16. > :30:17.point, that the Conservatives are in government in Westminster. The

:30:18. > :30:23.chances of them being in government in Cardiff Bay are very, very

:30:24. > :30:26.remote. At least, they appear remote at the moment. You may remember talk

:30:27. > :30:32.some years ago of a rainbow coalition, involving Plaid Cymru,

:30:33. > :30:36.the Conservatives, and the Liberal Democrats. At the moment, the

:30:37. > :30:40.conditions don't look right for that for at least the next assembly term.

:30:41. > :30:45.So it may well be, I can achieve more in the place where my partly

:30:46. > :30:48.has the power, if of course the Conservatives have their hands on

:30:49. > :30:54.the power in Westminster after the next election. We will have to wait

:30:55. > :30:56.a little over a year to find out. Conference was opened this morning

:30:57. > :31:10.by the Secretary of State for Wales, David Jones. This is what the Clwyd

:31:11. > :31:13.West MP had to say. In little over a month, the country will go to the

:31:14. > :31:17.polls again, this time to elect members to the European Parliament.

:31:18. > :31:20.And I'm sure that I speak on behalf of everyone in this hall when I said

:31:21. > :31:23.that we'll be giving our excellent MEP Kay Swinburne, and her fellow

:31:24. > :31:37.candidates Aled, Dan and Richard, all our support in that important

:31:38. > :31:39.contest. Ladies and gentlemen, Wales needs effective Conservative

:31:40. > :31:42.representation at Brussels, and I have no doubt that Kay and her

:31:43. > :31:45.colleagues will deliver just that. Yesterday, we heard that tremendous

:31:46. > :31:48.speech from the Prime Minister, telling us what the Conservative

:31:49. > :31:51.Party is doing in Government to help the people of Wales and the whole of

:31:52. > :31:59.Britain. Delivering security through our long-term economic plan.

:32:00. > :32:03.Reducing the deficit left to us by Labour so that we can safeguard our

:32:04. > :32:06.economy and keep mortgage rates low. Cutting income tax so that

:32:07. > :32:14.hard-working people can keep more of what they earn and be more secure.

:32:15. > :32:17.Creating more jobs by improving infrastructure and reducing taxes on

:32:18. > :32:20.jobs. Reducing welfare and capping immigration so that our economy

:32:21. > :32:26.delivers for those who work hard and play by the rules. And working hard

:32:27. > :32:32.to improve education so that our children can compete in the global

:32:33. > :32:36.race. And, here in Wales, we can see for ourselves what Conservative

:32:37. > :32:42.policies mean in practice. Over 80,000 more people in work than when

:32:43. > :32:50.we came to power in 2010. 30,000 fewer unemployed. 144,000 people

:32:51. > :32:54.taken out of income tax altogether. And over 1.2 million with more money

:32:55. > :33:01.in their pay packets this month as a consequence of our tax reforms. And

:33:02. > :33:04.we're making it easier for businesses to employ more people,

:33:05. > :33:08.too, with a cut of ?2,000 in employer National Insurance

:33:09. > :33:10.contributions. We're improving infrastructure, providing the Welsh

:33:11. > :33:16.Government with the finance they need to improve the M4 at Newport.

:33:17. > :33:20.Supporting a new nuclear power station, and a new prison which will

:33:21. > :33:24.be creating up to 1,000 new jobs at Wrexham. Creating new

:33:25. > :33:29.super-connected cities at Newport and Cardiff. Providing ?69 million

:33:30. > :33:36.to roll out superfast broadband across Wales. And committing to our

:33:37. > :33:44.part of the bargain to electrify the South Wales railway line. Please,

:33:45. > :33:54.Carl Sargeant, heed that: Committing to our part of the bargain.

:33:55. > :34:01.And all this after so many years of Labour neglect. Of Labour failing to

:34:02. > :34:06.invest in the modern infrastructure that Wales so badly needs, of

:34:07. > :34:09.letting things slide. Let's be blunt: For 13 years in Government in

:34:10. > :34:13.Westminster, Labour took Wales for granted, because they thought that

:34:14. > :34:20.it was a place that they could safely neglect. Because they took

:34:21. > :34:26.the view that the Welsh were people they could take or leave. Let's be

:34:27. > :34:31.equally blunt: It's this Government that has started to turn the tide in

:34:32. > :34:34.Wales. Investing in the Welsh economy, helping employers to create

:34:35. > :34:36.the right conditions to deliver more jobs and greater security to

:34:37. > :34:45.hard-working people and their families. And we intend to continue

:34:46. > :34:52.to do so. So, we are delivering real change in Wales at Westminster. But,

:34:53. > :34:58.of course, as we know, Wales has got two governments. And a lot of the

:34:59. > :35:02.services that are important to us all are run not by Conservatives in

:35:03. > :35:10.Westminster, but still by the Labour Party in Cardiff. And, do you know,

:35:11. > :35:14.here I think a little compare and contrast is in order. To focus

:35:15. > :35:18.attention on what we Conservatives are doing just a few miles to the

:35:19. > :35:24.east over the border, and what Labour is doing here in Wales. Now,

:35:25. > :35:30.health is arguably the most important service delivered by any

:35:31. > :35:36.Government. We know that people value health care above almost every

:35:37. > :35:40.other public service. And that's why, when we came to power, we made

:35:41. > :35:46.it clear that we were going to protect the health budget, and we've

:35:47. > :35:49.done just that. In England, spending on health will have gone up by

:35:50. > :35:56.around ?12.7 billion in cash terms over the lifetime of this

:35:57. > :36:00.Parliament. Making sure that the NHS continues to improve and to deliver

:36:01. > :36:07.the sort of health care that people want and that people deserve. But,

:36:08. > :36:10.in Wales, Labour have cut the health budget by 8%, despite being given an

:36:11. > :36:23.extra ?1.6 billion through the block grant. And what, we must wonder, has

:36:24. > :36:28.that 1.6 billion been spent on? The decline in the Welsh NHS is plain to

:36:29. > :36:32.see. The Nuffield Trust tells us that, in Wales, if you need a hip or

:36:33. > :36:40.knee replacement you will wait, on average, for 170 days. In England,

:36:41. > :36:44.you will wait only 70 days. Almost 1,700 operations had to be postponed

:36:45. > :36:47.in the five months to January this year because of bed shortages.

:36:48. > :36:54.Ambulance response targets have been met only once since May 2012. A

:36:55. > :36:57.targets haven't been met since 2009. And shamefully, in Wales, unlike

:36:58. > :37:05.England, there is no Cancer Drugs Fund. But, none of this is the fault

:37:06. > :37:13.of the hard-working doctors, nurses, and the other professionals in

:37:14. > :37:17.Wales' NHS. They are, of course, every bit as competent, every bit as

:37:18. > :37:19.dedicated, every bit as hard-working as those in other parts of the

:37:20. > :37:35.country. Wales's health professionals are

:37:36. > :37:38.world-class. But what is not world-class is the incompetent

:37:39. > :37:45.oversight of the Welsh NHS by the Labour Party. Ladies and gentlemen,

:37:46. > :37:52.the story of the NHS in Wales is the classic tale of lions led by

:37:53. > :38:03.donkeys. Under the Labour Party, the Welsh NHS is lagging behind. That is

:38:04. > :38:09.a fact. But heaven help anyone who seeks to complain or criticise. Ann

:38:10. > :38:11.Clwyd, a long serving and highly respected member of Parliament,

:38:12. > :38:18.tried to complain about the treatment of her husband at the

:38:19. > :38:23.Welsh NHS hospital. Her complaints were rubbished by Carwyn Jones. She

:38:24. > :38:26.was stopped from attending the Assembly Health Committee to give

:38:27. > :38:30.evidence. That is the way that the Labour Party deal with what they

:38:31. > :38:35.regard as a member of the awkward squad even if it is one of their

:38:36. > :38:40.own. Labour's conduct over the NHS in Wales has been nothing short of

:38:41. > :38:44.shameful. The fact that they will not listen to criticism from people

:38:45. > :38:53.such as Ann Clwyd makes matters even worse.

:38:54. > :38:59.Let's be frank. As First Minister, it is Carwyn Jones who is personally

:39:00. > :39:04.responsible for the lamentable state of the Welsh NHS. He's the top man

:39:05. > :39:18.and the buck stops with him. But he is, you know, so very

:39:19. > :39:28.thin-skinned. He really doesn't like criticism. And do you know what he

:39:29. > :39:31.hates most of all? It's that, all of a sudden, the national news media

:39:32. > :39:35.have picked up on the Labour Party's failure in Wales and that members of

:39:36. > :39:39.Parliament have got the effrontery to raise that failure on the floor

:39:40. > :39:44.in the House of Commons. Especially at Prime Minister's Questions.

:39:45. > :39:47.Instead of complaining when our Prime Minister happily focuses

:39:48. > :40:01.attention on this issue, Carwyn Jones should be doing his best to

:40:02. > :40:05.turn the health service around. -- properly focuses. If he does not

:40:06. > :40:11.think he is up to it, then that is fine. He can make way for the Welsh

:40:12. > :40:15.Conservative Party. But it is not just health. It is that other great

:40:16. > :40:18.public service, education, too. Good education is crucial to the future

:40:19. > :40:24.of every citizen of this country and to the economic success of the

:40:25. > :40:30.country as a whole. When we talk about Britain being in a global

:40:31. > :40:33.race, we are speaking literally. We are talking about something that is

:40:34. > :40:48.real, that is important, that is a challenge. That is and the challenge

:40:49. > :40:52.for everyone in this country. -- that is the challenge. The fact is

:40:53. > :40:55.that we are now living for the first time in a wholly globalised

:40:56. > :40:58.economy. Our competitors and our respected business partners are not

:40:59. > :41:02.just in the next street or the next town but in countries on the other

:41:03. > :41:05.side of the world. And they are ambitious. They are hungry to

:41:06. > :41:09.succeed. They have young populations that are increasingly well-educated.

:41:10. > :41:19.To compete against them and to bargain with them, we need excellent

:41:20. > :41:23.education as well. -- to partner with. That is something we recognise

:41:24. > :41:26.in Westminster and that is why Michael Gove and David Willetts

:41:27. > :41:28.place so much emphasis on the need for good free schools and

:41:29. > :41:34.academies, excellent colleges, world-class universities and

:41:35. > :41:37.21st-century apprenticeships. The better educated our young people

:41:38. > :41:44.are, the better equipped they will be to compete in the global race.

:41:45. > :41:50.But qualifications must be meaningful. They must be a true

:41:51. > :41:54.measure of capability. So, in England, we are introducing a new

:41:55. > :41:57.rigour to the school system, making sure that young people leave school

:41:58. > :42:04.with the right qualifications for success in the modern world. In

:42:05. > :42:16.Wales, however, we are seeing continuing decline in the education

:42:17. > :42:19.system. The PISA statistics published recently were frankly

:42:20. > :42:24.shocking. They showed Wales to be the weakest of the home nations in

:42:25. > :42:28.maths, science and reading. On some measures, education in Wales is no

:42:29. > :42:34.better than in some of the Eastern European nations emerging from

:42:35. > :42:38.decades of communism. That is not just my view. On Thursday, the OECD

:42:39. > :42:44.published a report on the Welsh education system. It found, and I

:42:45. > :42:47.quote, that the Welsh government had a lack of long-term clarity in

:42:48. > :43:02.policy-making with weak and politician approaches. --

:43:03. > :43:05.implementation. And also, and I quote again, that Wales lacks a

:43:06. > :43:08.compelling and inclusive long-term education vision to steer the

:43:09. > :43:12.education system and its reform efforts. Now, that is not political

:43:13. > :43:15.sniping from the Tories so Carwyn Jones can abandon that criticism

:43:16. > :43:18.before he starts. That is the Organisation for Economic

:43:19. > :43:28.Cooperation and Development. Let's see Labour try to brush that aside.

:43:29. > :43:33.Carwyn Jones's response to the PISA results, which echoed that of his

:43:34. > :43:43.education minister, was so weak as to be laughable. He said, we took

:43:44. > :43:46.our eye off the ball. Given that it was the fourth consecutive decline,

:43:47. > :43:51.one must wonder whether his eye was ever on the ball in the first place.

:43:52. > :43:58.Frankly, whether he was ever in the game.

:43:59. > :44:05.What a pathetic response from a man who is supposed to have the charge

:44:06. > :44:19.of such an important public service. How limp and lame and entirely

:44:20. > :44:22.inadequate. How utterly shameful. Ladies and gentlemen, the plain,

:44:23. > :44:25.simple truth is that Labour have let down an entire generation of Welsh

:44:26. > :44:35.young people with little sign of doing anything to make things

:44:36. > :44:39.better. One thing Labour could do on both health and education is to take

:44:40. > :44:46.a look at what we are doing in Westminster. It is as clear as it

:44:47. > :44:52.could be that our outcomes on both are significantly better in England

:44:53. > :44:55.than Wales. The problem, of course, is that Labour are constantly

:44:56. > :44:59.seeking to do things differently in Wales. The mantra is always Welsh

:45:00. > :45:08.solutions for Welsh problems, even when those problems are identical to

:45:09. > :45:13.those found elsewhere. Let's be absolutely clear about that. Decent

:45:14. > :45:20.health care and decent education are universal issues. They are not

:45:21. > :45:22.Welsh, English or anything else. Labour have presided over

:45:23. > :45:24.unacceptable failure in important public services in Wales and it

:45:25. > :45:40.cannot be allowed to continue. What I suggest is that they take a

:45:41. > :45:44.look at what we are doing in England to improve standards. And consider,

:45:45. > :45:51.just consider aligning their policies to ours. If they are too

:45:52. > :45:55.proud or, frankly, too Labour to do so then they must explain why Labour

:45:56. > :45:59.expect the people of Wales to put up with substandard public services of

:46:00. > :46:17.the sort that would not be tolerated anywhere else, and certainly not by

:46:18. > :46:21.the Conservative Party. Ladies and gentlemen, if Labour is really a

:46:22. > :46:24.party of government in Wales then it needs to start to behave like one

:46:25. > :46:32.and that means taking responsibility. That means being

:46:33. > :46:39.accountable, like all grown-up governments. And that is why, in the

:46:40. > :46:42.Wales Bill currently passing through Parliament, we intend to make Carwyn

:46:43. > :46:54.Jones and the Welsh government more answerable for the way that they

:46:55. > :47:00.spend Welsh taxpayers' money. It is the easiest thing in the world to

:47:01. > :47:03.spend money when you aren't responsible for raising it, when you

:47:04. > :47:09.aren't responsible for growing the economy to improve the pace, when

:47:10. > :47:12.you don't have to explain to hard-working voters how you intend

:47:13. > :47:16.to spend their money, and when all you have to do is to moan that

:47:17. > :47:24.you're not getting enough from Westminster. The Wales Bill is going

:47:25. > :47:29.to introduce the Labour Party in Wales for the first time ever to the

:47:30. > :47:35.realities of grown-up government. It will give the assembly the power to

:47:36. > :47:40.call a referendum on whether Wales should be responsible for 10p of all

:47:41. > :47:43.income tax raised here. If there is a yes vote in the referendum, then

:47:44. > :47:50.the Welsh government will be able to reduce or increase that rate of tax.

:47:51. > :47:57.The Conservative Party's position is very clear. We think that there

:47:58. > :48:01.should be an early referendum, that there should be a campaign for a yes

:48:02. > :48:07.vote and that campaign should be based on a commitment to put the

:48:08. > :48:15.Welsh rate of tax. We Conservatives leave in low taxation does it's good

:48:16. > :48:19.for the economy -- leave in low taxation. And we believe in low

:48:20. > :48:22.taxation for Wales because it will give Wales a competitive edge,

:48:23. > :48:27.stimulate enterprise, give Welsh people, all Welsh people, more money

:48:28. > :48:33.in their pockets to spend in Welsh businesses. In short, it will be

:48:34. > :48:38.good for Wales. So, I invite Carwyn Jones to commit to that early

:48:39. > :48:44.referendum and commit the Labour Party in Wales to lower taxes, too.

:48:45. > :48:48.Let's see if he has the ambition, let's see if he's brave enough to do

:48:49. > :48:56.that, to accept the accountability that should know with grown-up

:48:57. > :49:02.government. Or, if he wants to be the Peter Pan of Welsh politics, the

:49:03. > :49:14.eternal political adolescent, the First Minister who never grew up.

:49:15. > :49:22.And, of course, as the Prime Minister said yesterday, ambition is

:49:23. > :49:27.the key word. As Conservatives, we are naturally ambitious and

:49:28. > :49:31.ambitious for Wales, and we want to do our best for ambitious,

:49:32. > :49:36.hard-working people, people who aspire to a well-paid job, decent

:49:37. > :49:39.health care, and better opportunities for their children. In

:49:40. > :49:43.government in Westminster we're proving that we are making a

:49:44. > :49:46.positive difference, and that we're delivering more security to more

:49:47. > :49:53.people across Wales who were so badly let down by Labour. So, my

:49:54. > :49:59.challenge today, again, to Carwyn Jones, and to the Labour Party in

:50:00. > :50:05.Wales, is this: At Michal Beladic the youth got it wrong on important

:50:06. > :50:11.public services, that's an important first step -- admit how badly you've

:50:12. > :50:14.got it wrong. Look at what we are doing to improve those services and

:50:15. > :50:19.give serious consideration to doing something similar here in Wales.

:50:20. > :50:24.Work with us. We are more than happy to give you all the help we can.

:50:25. > :50:30.But, if you are too proud, or too perverse, or, frankly, to labour to

:50:31. > :50:37.do what it takes to make life better for the people of Wales, then step

:50:38. > :50:41.aside. Because we in the Welsh Conservative party will be more than

:50:42. > :50:51.happy the two access that challenge. Thank you very much. -- to accept

:50:52. > :50:53.that challenge. The Secretary of State for Wales

:50:54. > :51:00.David Jones opening proceedings this morning, and the Welsh Conservative

:51:01. > :51:03.Conference is drawing to a close, as is the Spring Conference season.

:51:04. > :51:11.Let's get the final. Our political editor. -- let's get the final

:51:12. > :51:15.thoughts of our political editor. Even in the context of the health

:51:16. > :51:19.debate, which has been running for a few weeks and months, this was an

:51:20. > :51:22.attack like no other from the Conservatives. Are they happy they

:51:23. > :51:27.have set the right tone this weekend?

:51:28. > :51:32.I think they are. It was fascinating, wasn't it? Before this

:51:33. > :51:37.weekend, I think many people were wondering, where on earth does the

:51:38. > :51:41.rhetoric go? You've got the Prime Minister describing the state of the

:51:42. > :51:45.Welsh NHS as a scandal during Prime Minister 's questions, something

:51:46. > :51:49.like the 30th or 31st time he has been highly critical of the NHS

:51:50. > :51:54.during Prime Minister 's questions, and yet they meet for their conduct

:51:55. > :51:59.rents here in Llangollen and evening, where will they go with

:52:00. > :52:04.it? But they certainly went further than I think we were expecting on

:52:05. > :52:09.two main counts. Worst of all, that pretty extraordinary line from David

:52:10. > :52:13.Cameron during that speech yesterday in which, actually, for most of his

:52:14. > :52:19.speech he talked about the economy, but then he did talk about the NHS,

:52:20. > :52:24.and lichen Offa's Dyke as a line between life and death. I think

:52:25. > :52:30.that's raised eyebrows at the extent of the use of that language. And

:52:31. > :52:34.also, before that, Jeremy Hunt, the English health secretary, coming to

:52:35. > :52:39.Wales to talk about the Welsh NHS, in itself is pretty unprecedented

:52:40. > :52:42.and in century, I think, in the sense that they wanted that to

:52:43. > :52:45.strike the tone for the entire weekend, and he was the main speaker

:52:46. > :52:53.on Friday morning. In an interview I did with him just before he took to

:52:54. > :52:56.the stage, he talked about the Welsh government's attitude to mortality

:52:57. > :53:02.rates in hospitals in the wake of the Mid-Staffs crisis in England as

:53:03. > :53:09.morally indefensible. So, those two pretty startling lines and

:53:10. > :53:15.criticisms of the NHS ramped it up to a level certainly that we haven't

:53:16. > :53:19.seen before. In Andrew RT Davies' speech earlier today, you was

:53:20. > :53:23.talking about the coalition of ideas. We spoke to him earlier on

:53:24. > :53:27.the programme and I'm still not quite sure what he has in mind. Have

:53:28. > :53:32.you picked up any intelligence as to what he means by that?

:53:33. > :53:37.Yes, I saw that interview as well. I thought it was interesting in the

:53:38. > :53:43.extent to which she was talking about listening to the other

:53:44. > :53:48.parties, and listening to what they come out with in terms of proposals

:53:49. > :53:53.and ideas they can put together full policies in the future. To some

:53:54. > :53:57.extent, I think you could say it was the strongest indication he has

:53:58. > :54:03.given get that he's willing to go into some full of coalition at the

:54:04. > :54:06.assembly. The way it went in his speech, before the speech we were

:54:07. > :54:11.told that was certainly where it was going, all about reaching out and

:54:12. > :54:14.bearing in mind we are talking about reaching out internally as well

:54:15. > :54:18.because there have been major internal problems in the

:54:19. > :54:22.Conservative Party at the assembly, the fact that Andrew RT Davies had

:54:23. > :54:27.to sack four of his front bench spokesmen and women over the row

:54:28. > :54:32.over the devolution of income tax powers, and also reaching out

:54:33. > :54:36.externally to the other parties, potentially forming some kind of

:54:37. > :54:41.collision. Underpinning this is the admission and the acknowledgement

:54:42. > :54:45.that they can't challenge Labour on their own and they have to get

:54:46. > :54:48.together with another party. But during his speech I have to say it

:54:49. > :54:53.didn't really sound like a reaching out speech. He did talk about the

:54:54. > :54:56.coalition of ideas but he was highly critical of the Liberal Democrats,

:54:57. > :55:00.saying they did not know what they stood for, he was highly critical of

:55:01. > :55:03.Plaid Cymru, accusing them of wanting to rip up the United

:55:04. > :55:11.Kingdom, but afterwards in the interview with you I think he's

:55:12. > :55:14.clarified some of his thoughts and the principle behind it is that he

:55:15. > :55:19.does want to reach out. We will have to wait and see over the weeks and

:55:20. > :55:22.months ahead to what extent that will happen. There are major

:55:23. > :55:28.personality issues here between him and someone like Leanne Wood of

:55:29. > :55:34.Plaid Cymru, for example. They are miles apart. But quite a significant

:55:35. > :55:37.step change and an indication of where he's thinking of taking the

:55:38. > :55:41.party. It is the end of the Conference

:55:42. > :55:45.season. You have been to every Conference going. With an election

:55:46. > :55:52.coming up in a few weeks' time, who is sounding bullish and who is

:55:53. > :55:56.worried? It was highly political, wasn't it?

:55:57. > :56:01.All of us were aware the elections are round the corner and that

:56:02. > :56:05.dictated the tone of things. One observation I would say, Allott,

:56:06. > :56:11.having been to all four, is the extent to which so much of the

:56:12. > :56:15.discussions and policies were about the detailed performance of the

:56:16. > :56:20.Welsh government's record. Nick, thank you very much indeed.

:56:21. > :56:26.The final word here in the studio with Vaughan, on that question of

:56:27. > :56:30.the upcoming European elections, we have not heard the speech from Ks

:56:31. > :56:34.Wynberg, the current Conservative MEP, but she was sounding pretty

:56:35. > :56:44.worried by the nature of her attack on Plaid Cymru and UKIP.

:56:45. > :56:51.Is that if their attack on -- that analysis of the situation? Yes, Kay

:56:52. > :56:55.Swinburne spending a long time criticising not just Plaid Cymru but

:56:56. > :57:00.also the record of their MEP, Jill Evans. It did seem to suggest that

:57:01. > :57:06.maybe Kay Swinburne thought that Jill Evans was actually the person

:57:07. > :57:10.she was fighting against one of the European seeds. If you look at the

:57:11. > :57:14.polling that has been done, there is not that much, it is not that

:57:15. > :57:20.recent, but it would suggest that Labour could well get two seats,

:57:21. > :57:24.UKIP said with one, and that Plaid Cymru and the Tories will be

:57:25. > :57:28.scrapping over the last one and, judging by Kay Swinburne's speech,

:57:29. > :57:32.it certainly seemed that is the way she sees it. In terms of the big

:57:33. > :57:38.picture of the Conference, was it a case of trying to kill two birds

:57:39. > :57:46.with one stone? David Cameron said you cannot trust

:57:47. > :57:52.Labour with the NHS in England, with the economy in the UK, and with

:57:53. > :57:56.Wales' public services? When he talks about the Welsh health service

:57:57. > :58:00.in prime ministers questions, what he is aiming at is voters in

:58:01. > :58:05.England, basically. In Wales, it is slightly different. The

:58:06. > :58:09.Conservatives would like to put the Welsh health service centre stage

:58:10. > :58:13.for the elections but it is very early to try and discern what the

:58:14. > :58:17.assembly elections in Wales will be about because, to a large extent, it

:58:18. > :58:21.depends on the result of the general election. The assembly elections

:58:22. > :58:25.will be different if Ed Miliband is in Number Ten do if David Cameron is

:58:26. > :58:29.in Number Ten. Empty for your company over the last

:58:30. > :58:36.couple of hours. Our time is up on the coverage of the spring

:58:37. > :58:42.Conference. There will be more coverage on Wales today tonight at

:58:43. > :58:46.6:40pm and on FOC at 8:45pm, and on the Sunday Politics tomorrow at

:58:47. > :58:49.2:30pm. From all of us on the programme, thank you for watching

:58:50. > :58:54.and enjoy the rest of your weekend.