Scotland and Wales are ready to shake off the "alien" political culture of England at next year's elections, according to Plaid Cymru's Westminster leader.

Elfyn Llwyd told delegates at the Scottish National Party conference in Inverness that the nationalist parties were the only ones truly representing their peoples.

He said they should tap into a "resurgence in national pride" in Scotland and Wales in the lead up to next May's voting.

The conference is being held in Inverness

And he suggested that the elections for the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly were the perfect platform for both nations to break free from the rest of the UK.

Mr Llwyd drew parallels between the SNP and Plaid Cymru during a fraternal speech on the final day of the Inverness conference.

He said they had formed an alliance at Westminster against the "alien" philosophies of the Tories and New Labour, with their enthusiasm for privatisation and unilateral action against Iraq.

He said England was going through an identity crisis.

But he suggested that next year's elections in Scotland and Wales would be a chance to throw off the alien agenda and start to address the problems of depopulation and poverty.

Standing ovation

Mr Llwyd said the SNP and Plaid Cymru had to be prepared to "walk the extra mile" to secure victory at the polls.

"It behoves all of us to do what we can - to persuade others to our point of view, to walk the extra mile even when tired - so that when our grandchildren ask us what we did in 2003, we can reply with pride that we fought a hard and successful election which paved the way to freedom for both our nations," he said.

The 15-minute speech received a standing ovation from delegates.