Prime Minister Andy Burnham has told members of his party that Welsh Labour may have lost sight of some of the principles of devolution before it was thrown out of power in a historic election defeat. Speaking on Saturday morning at the first Welsh Labour conference since May's Senedd election, held at Venue Cymru in Llandudno, he suggested the previous Labour government did not do enough to pass powers down to communities. He said it was "hard" to accept the party was no longer in power after 27 years of running the Welsh government.

In a subdued speech, the UK Labour leader said he wanted to see "one Labour team" where "everyone" was "signed up and on the same page." Labour lost to pro-independence Plaid Cymru, which is now running the Welsh government. Burnham spoke ahead of the publication of a review of what went wrong at the election. Since becoming prime minister he has been lobbying the Welsh government to devolve more powers to local councils.S1S2

"Somewhere along the way perhaps we lost sight of some of the principles that drove devolution in the first place," he said. "We probably stopped listening as much as we should have, and actually stopped driving power down into every Welsh postcode, which is what the vision to me really should always have been about – about people and places." He said the party would accept its defeat and "come back stronger" with a "vision for a stronger Wales in a fairer United Kingdom."S1S2

Burnham said he wanted a "one Labour team for Wales" in which the party is "pulling in the same direction", adding that he would not be "creating problems" for Welsh colleagues or going against what Ken or colleagues want to achieve. He said Labour would put forward a vision for communities across Wales and give the nation a stronger national voice. He said he loved "everything about Wales", and that his last visit to Aberfan had left the "biggest mark", referencing the fight for justice in the years after the disaster. He described his vision as a "reindustrialised nation with revitalised high streets".S1S2

Burnham said Labour should be "immensely proud" of what it achieved in Wales, including free school meals, free prescriptions and the creation of Transport for Wales. He said he wanted to show how "being in the UK is good for Wales because of the partnership that we can develop together". He also said he had put the full devolution of employment support on the table with the Welsh government.S1S2