Winning an outright majority in the national assembly in 2004 should be the goal of the Welsh Labour Party, Rhodri Morgan has said.

In a combative speech, the first minister told Blackpool delegates that the Conservatives remain "an irrelevance" in Wales - while Plaid Cymru would be "the Welsh nightmare".

He contrasted the constitutional "navel-gazing" of the opposition parties with the assembly government's "practical achievements" on public services.

Morgan argued that Labour's focus on public services marks the real "fault line" between it and the other parties.

Focussing on the work of the Welsh assembly, Morgan pointed to improving healthcare, educational reform and lower unemployment as proof of Labour's success.

"I am proud to lead a government that is bringing government closer to the people, making a difference in the daily lives of Welsh families, connecting the work of the Welsh assembly government to individuals and communities," he told delegates.

"We can make that difference because our programme is rooted in Welsh Labour values - the people's values, developed and applied the Welsh way, the Labour way."

But the ambition to win an outright majority was the key to Morgan's speech.

Achieving the ambition could see the Liberal Democrats removed the Welsh coalition.

"Being in a partnership government with our junior partners the Liberal Democrats has been, shall we say, an instructive experience but no one ordained that it should be a permanent arrangement," Morgan told delegates.

"A proper working Labour majority in the assembly has been my ambition from the day I became first minister two and a half years ago, and it is an ambition I share with every member of our party in Wales."

At present Labour needs the support of the Liberal Democrats to maintain a majority in the assembly.

The first election to the assembly resulted in a bloody nose for Labour and unexpected success for Plaid Cymru after heartland voters rebelled against the "imposition" of Alun Michael as leader of the devolved administration.