Welsh Tories say Labour is shackling the NHS with bureaucracy

Nick Bourne called for the resignation of Welsh Health Minister Jane Hutt over her "abysmal performance".

Mr Bourne, who leads the Tories in the Welsh assembly, spoke on the second and final day of the Welsh Tory conference.

Party leader Michael Howard addressed delegates in north Wales on Friday.

Mr Howard used the Llandudno conference to launch a campaign for a referendum on the EU constitution.

Dithering, blundering and failure Nick Bourne on First Minister Rhodri Morgan

Mr Bourne, an assembly member for mid and west Wales, told party members it was a "miracle" Ms Hutt is still in her job.

The only explanation was that the Welsh health service is so bad that nobody else in Labour would take it on, he said.

"The Welsh national interest demands she steps down in favour of the opposition," he told the conference.

Mr Bourne described the state of the health service in Wales as so poor that the situation in England looked good in comparison.

Delegates heard that while just four people in England are waiting more than 18 months for treatment, in Wales there are more than 11,500.

Mr Bourne accused the Labour assembly government of refusing to "free the Welsh NHS from the shackles of endless bureaucracy and socialist dogma".

The Welsh Tory leader also labelled Labour's record on education, rural affairs and the use of Objective One European funding a disaster.

He accused First Minister Rhodri Morgan of "dithering, blundering and failure" during his four years in office.

'United and disciplined'

In the week that the Richard report on the future of the assembly was published, Mr Bourne also called for a referendum before further change.

The report urged that the assembly is given primary law-making powers by 2011, a change in the voting system and an extra 20 AMs to cope with the workload.

Mr Bourne, who led the anti-devolution Just Say No campaign during the 1997 referendum which set up the assembly, said Labour could not "steamroller" Wales into more constitutional change.

However, he did not specify what form he wanted any new referendum to take.

In the closing speech of the conference, MEP Jonathan Evans said the party was "positive, upbeat, united and disciplined".

Speaking ahead of June's elections for local councils and the European Parliament, Mr Evans said the polls gave voters the chance to "send a message to Tony Blair".

Mr Evans said: "The only vote that Labour fears is a Conservative vote. The only party that Labour fears is the Conservative Party."