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Ed Miliband promises to clear up devolution confusion Ed Miliband promises to clear up devolution confusion
(about 3 hours later)
Ed Miliband has pledged a Labour government would clear up confusion over what the Welsh assembly can and cannot do.Ed Miliband has pledged a Labour government would clear up confusion over what the Welsh assembly can and cannot do.
He told the party's Welsh conference in Llandudno Labour would legislate so that powers are assumed to be devolved "unless specifically reserved".He told the party's Welsh conference in Llandudno Labour would legislate so that powers are assumed to be devolved "unless specifically reserved".
Mr Miliband said it would be "bringing Wales into line with Scotland". First Minister Carwyn Jones admitted there were "unacceptable" examples of poor care in the Welsh NHS.
Labour's Welsh government was showing the difference the party can make, but it still faces NHS challenges he said. But he said Labour and people in Wales must fight "bogus" Tory attacks on it.
It follows sustained criticism of the Welsh NHS's performance by UK Conservative ministers. He accused Conservatives of "willing" the NHS in Wales to have a crisis "on a daily basis".
Earlier, Mr Miliband said his constitutional plans would be "bringing Wales into line with Scotland".
Tax breaks
The plan to move to reserved powers for Wales was proposed by the UK government-appointed Silk Commission inquiry into devolution.The plan to move to reserved powers for Wales was proposed by the UK government-appointed Silk Commission inquiry into devolution.
'Big challenges'
Mr Miliband said: "We all remember what happened when Wales tried to keep the agricultural wages board and protect vulnerable farm workers.Mr Miliband said: "We all remember what happened when Wales tried to keep the agricultural wages board and protect vulnerable farm workers.
"It ended with the ridiculous spectacle of a Conservative secretary of state scuttling to the supreme court to try to stop the Welsh government ensuring fairness in agriculture."It ended with the ridiculous spectacle of a Conservative secretary of state scuttling to the supreme court to try to stop the Welsh government ensuring fairness in agriculture.
Live stream of Welsh Labour's 2014 spring conferenceLive stream of Welsh Labour's 2014 spring conference
"Well that is wrong, and under a Labour government it will never, ever happen again.""Well that is wrong, and under a Labour government it will never, ever happen again."
He said Labour in Wales had "big challenges to meet on the NHS, like better, early diagnosis and support for the older population". He pledged a Labour UK government would "write the next chapter in the battle against lower wages", by offering firms tax breaks to pay workers the higher Living Wage, rather than just the Minimum Wage.
But he added Wales had "half the A&E consultants" and the number of nurses was being "savagely cut back" when the Conservatives were last in charge of the Welsh health service. Equal marriage
Mr Miliband accused David Cameron of being "desperate" to talk about the NHS in Wales because of the "billions wasted" on a "top-down reorganisation" of the NHS in England "that nobody wanted and nobody voted for".
He also pledged a Labour UK government would "write the next chapter in the battle against lower wages", by offering firms tax breaks to pay workers the higher Living Wage, rather than just the Minimum Wage.
'Equal marriage'
He promised Labour ministers would prevent employers being able to "exploit" zero hours contracts "so that people can work regular hours, month after month, and never have a regular contract".He promised Labour ministers would prevent employers being able to "exploit" zero hours contracts "so that people can work regular hours, month after month, and never have a regular contract".
The Labour leader also called 29 March "historic", after gay marriage became legal at midnight.The Labour leader also called 29 March "historic", after gay marriage became legal at midnight.
"Because across Wales, from Conwy to Cardiff, men and women are getting married who couldn't get married before," he said."Because across Wales, from Conwy to Cardiff, men and women are getting married who couldn't get married before," he said.
"Equal marriage for gay and lesbian couples, because you should be able to marry the person you love.""Equal marriage for gay and lesbian couples, because you should be able to marry the person you love."
Later, First Minister Carwyn Jones will seek to "set the record straight" on the Welsh NHS, after Tory attacks on it, and he will accuse UK ministers of launching a "Tory war on Wales", putting investment in Wales at risk. Also defending Welsh Labour's record on health, he said the party had "big challenges to meet", like better, early diagnosis and support for the older population".
In his speech, Mr Jones will tell the conference: "Far from a Respect Agenda, we now find ourselves on the frontline in the Tory War on Wales. But he added Wales had "half the A&E consultants" and the number of nurses was being "savagely cut back" when the Conservatives were last in charge of the Welsh health service.
Rail electrification Mr Miliband accused David Cameron of being "desperate" to talk about the NHS in Wales because of the "billions wasted" on a "top-down reorganisation" of the NHS in England "that nobody wanted and nobody voted for".
"Day after day we see attack after attack, on the NHS and those who work in it. Later, during the afternoon session in Llandudno, Mr Jones said Labour found itself "on the frontline in the Tory war on Wales".
"On our schools, and on our teachers. "This is a Tory elite waging war on Wales, pandering to the prejudices of some London newsrooms, in an attempt to pick up wavering votes in English marginal seats," he said.
"On the Welsh language, on our economy, on devolution - on Wales itself." "We cannot, and we will not, allow the Welsh public to be taken in by those who see Wales as collateral damage in their general election campaign."
Mr Jones will also focus strongly on the continuing row between the UK and Welsh governments over who should pay for electrification of rail lines in the south Wales valleys. Accepting there were "difficult truths", the first minister said there were examples of poor care that were "unacceptable".
The Welsh government insists UK ministers agreed to bear the cost, totalling hundreds of millions of pounds, but the UK government says a deal was done for the Welsh government to foot the bill. Mr Jones said waiting times for diagnostic tests were "too long for too many", there had been "complacency" at the top of some local health boards and a "complicated complaints system" that would be reformed.
A senior Labour source told BBC Wales the party is now wondering if a "war of words" is developing into a situation where money from UK ministers for Wales is "drying up". He said Labour ministers must "hold up our hands and say, yes, we could have done better, and we will do better".
'Shared values' But he stressed that under devolution infant mortality and cancer survival rates had improved faster than England, health spending had doubled and there were some 4,000 more nurses and 1,000 more consultants.
The first minister is expected to aim the criticism in his speech entirely at the Conservatives.
With May's European elections looming, Mr Jones will issue a rallying call to supporters and activists.
He will say: "Wales has always been proudly European. We have always seen the very real benefits of being a part of a wider European ideal - with shared values and principles.
"Economically we cannot afford to leave and it's time we had a proper debate about the very serious consequences that withdrawal would have on the very fabric of Welsh life."
Labour believes the "constant" attacks on Welsh public services are angering party activists, encouraging them to go canvassing and making the slogan it began using at the 2011 assembly election, "standing up for Wales", highly relevant for this European poll.