Rhodri Morgan has insisted that Labour remains "at the helm" despite having to share power in the Welsh assembly with Plaid Cymru.

Speaking as the Labour conference got underway in Bournemouth on Sunday, the Welsh leader accepted that it had been a "challenging year" but said that Labour was "fighting fit and still in charge".

Nationalists Plaid Cymru gained three seats in May's elections, taking its total to 15 compared to Labour's 26.

Morgan praised the work of his party, and pointing to improvements in health care he said Labour was reviving communities, tackling child poverty and focusing on climate change.

"Labour remains at the helm in Wales, with a Labour first minister; a Labour minister in charge of our health services; a Labour minister in charge of our education services; a Labour minister in charge of local government and social justice; a Labour minister in charge of the environment and a Labour minister in charge of our finance and public services."

'Calamity Cameron'

The Welsh Labour leader also commended his party for keeping the Conservatives out of power.

"If we had not held our nerve and stuck to our political guns, then yes, believe it or not, the Tories would have been back in office in Wales," he said.

Describing the Tories as the "historic enemy of working people in this country" and "the historic enemy of fairness", he accused them of being "out of touch with the values and the people of Wales".

He said Tory leader David Cameron was on his way to "that special job centre for failed ex-Tory leaders".

"How could anyone who has watched 'Calamity Cameron' at work this summer, since Gordon Brown became our leader and prime minister, fail to conclude that while Gordon is already on his way to becoming a great prime minister, the other is already on his way to the job centre," he added.

And Morgan said Welsh Labour would work with the UK government to create "an even more successful economy".

"We know our job, my job and your job, is to ensure that Wales plays its full part in delivering another term, a full term for Gordon and his team," he added. "That's what Welsh Labour is for."