The Conservatives plan to reduce the number of free-to-air TV sporting events and will undertake an independent economic assessment study before making any changes to existing legislation if they get into power, Shadow Sports Minister Hugh Robertson has confirmed.

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport announced on Wednesday that a revised list of "crown jewel" sporting events would not be implemented before the general election on May 6, due to the time needed to finalise the bill.

The government had provisionally accepted the recommendations made by an advisory panel led by former Football Association executive director David Davies over ringfenced sporting events, but Robertson has slammed Labour for using the controversial crown jewels proposals as a vote-winning mechanism.

"I've always thought the problem with the review is that it was driven by political imperatives not sporting ones," he told Press Association Sport's www.thesportbriefing.com.

"I think when Andy Burnham (former Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport) launched the review he thought there were votes in sticking sport back on free-to-air.

"When they got the review they suddenly woke up to the fact that it is a great deal more complicated than that because there is a balance to be struck between guaranteeing as much sport as you can free-to-air but also allowing sport governing bodies the freedom to market their own rights and then invest the proceeds in grassroots sport.

"It's an immensely complicated area but the standard Conservative response is that if we win on May 6 we will review the economic evidence. We will certainly look at an independent economic assessment and then make our decision thereafter."

Robertson insists that the Tories, before making any decisions, will investigate the economic impact listing will have on sports, highlighting cricket as an example of the detrimental effect it could have.

The inquiry recommended adding the home Ashes series between England and Australia to ringfenced events, but Robertson argued such a decision "could pretty easily bring down cricket completely" as the England and Wales Cricket Board relies on broadcast revenue for 80% of its income.

The inquiry also recommended adding England's football tournament qualifying matches, golf's Open Championship, Wimbledon and the Rugby World Cup to the list of protected events, but Robertson is instead keen to decrease the number of events on the list.

"I think the general principle would be that we favour a smaller rather than a larger A-list," he added.

"I would certainly look to reintroduce the B-list - the highlights - which are scrapped altogether in the Davies review because I think that is a very good compromise.

"Then we would probably look at mandating governing bodies that are un-listed to invest a certain amount of their income in the grassroots."

The Conservatives, currently ahead in the prediction polls, are hoping to regain power from Labour after 13 years as the opposition party.