NEXT year's National Assembly of Wales election will be a referendum on the future of the NHS, Welsh Conservatives leader Andrew RT Davies will tell the Tory party conference in Manchester today.

Mr Davies will speak of Welsh Conservatives' plans to increase investment and boost access to treatments across the country, pledging that his party will "protect the NHS budget in Wales."

Investment in more paramedics, better access to cancer treatments, more accountability, and better patient choice, are high on the agenda, for a service he believes needs innovation to help bring down waiting times, improve patient care, and widen access to services.

Of next May's election, Mr Davies will say the people of Wales have a stark choice: "More of the same with Labour, or better access, more investment, and a brighter future with Welsh Conservatives."

He will claim that the Welsh Conservatives are Wales' "anti-establishment party" and - alluding to the possibility of the need for a coalition - will declare that it is "the only party that won’t prop up another five more years of Labour rule."

Mr Davies will also pledge to fund schools directly in Wales, significantly boosting the amount of money that goes to frontline teaching and empowering staff, parents and governors.

He will also tell the conference that a Welsh Conservative government in Wales will reward "the grafters, the workers, the risk-takers" and "unashamedly" back small businesses.