SNP conference: Plaid wants to break 'Tory-Labour duopoly'

Leanne Wood has told the Scottish National Party conference she wants Plaid Cymru to emulate its success and "break the Tory-Labour duopoly".

Speaking in Aberdeen, the Plaid leader said Wales suffered a "double whammy" of a failing Labour government in Cardiff Bay and weak devolution.

She said she hoped to return to the conference next year as first minister of Wales.

Unlike the SNP, Plaid failed to win more seats at May's general election.

The party goes into next May's assembly election as the third party in Cardiff Bay, behind Labour and the Tories.

Ms Wood told the BBC that Plaid had "a big mountain to climb", but the result of next year's devolved election was not inevitable.

In her speech on Saturday, she said: "In Scotland you have broken the Tory-Labour duopoly and it's our aim to do exactly the same in Wales."

To cheers from SNP members, she added: "It's my hope therefore to return to your conference next year and to congratulate you on yet another famous election success, but to do so next time as the first minister of Wales."

A Welsh Labour spokesman said: "Instead of making these pilgrimages to SNP conferences, it would be better for Leanne Wood to stay in Wales and explain how Plaid Cymru are going to pay for all the promises they keep making, including a massive and expensive restructuring of the NHS in Wales.

"All these costless pledges explain why people don't trust Plaid Cymru on health and they don't trust them on the economy.

"When Plaid make claims about a lack of progress since devolution, they seem to airbrush their own history in government during that time. It is an odd approach."

The Welsh Conservatives accused the Plaid Cymru leader of "incredible hypocrisy".

"It's incredibly rich for Leanne Wood to preach of the dangers of Labour when she refuses to rule out propping up another five years of Labour rule in Wales," a spokesman said.

"Let's not forget that her party was in coalition with Labour from 2007 to 2011 and - in recent years - has supported Labour's devastating NHS budget cuts."