Tories 'committed' to assembly

The Welsh Conservatives can live with devolution

The leader of the Conservatives in Wales, Nick Bourne, said his party was striving to make the Welsh National Assembly a success.

Prof Bourne also told the party's annual conference in Llandudno that the Conservatives were committed to making the assembly work.

We need a properly functioning Assembly - one that is more than just a talking shop

Welsh Conservative leader Nick Bourne

"Although we did not vote in favour of a National Assembly this does not mean that we aren't now doing our best to make it work," he said.

"It involves trying to get the best value for money possible for the Welsh people - a principle with which the Labour administration in Cardiff doesn't seem to be familiar.

"We need a properly functioning Assembly - one that is more than just a talking shop."

But Mr Bourne also said the Tories were proud of the British union.

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"The union is only safe with the Conservatives - the Conservative and Unionist Party," he said.

During the conference on Saturday, some grass roots tories were expected to call for a fresh referendum on the future of the Assembly.

In a closed session, party members were due to discuss policy ideas for their general election manifesto.

Second referendum

A paper being circulated to party members said the assembly is perceived as an expensive extension of local government that is doing nothing for Wales.

But Conservative Party chairman Michael Ancram has rejected the idea and said the party accepted the result of the last referendum and wanted to make devolution work.

Mr Anram told the conference that the party had gotten over its "dark days" and he said it was at last "on the march again".

The discussion paper suggests the party's manifesto should say that if the assembly is seen to be a failure during its second full term, a Conservative government would consider a further referendum on remedies to the situation.

Grass roots

It also asks whether the power of the assembly to allocate money to local authorities be removed.

The paper questions whether the assembly should be given power to call in planning applications made by local authorities covering projects on land their own.

Grass roots Welsh Tories will get the chance to vote on what policies should go into their manifesto later in the year.

On Friday at the conference, Conservative Party leader William Hague attacked Prime Minister Tony Blair's record on health, crime and taxation.

He also claimed that Britain was "anti-Euro", underlining his party's commitment to keep the Pound.