Welsh Labour to have new leader by November but party split

Welsh Labour is set to unveil a permanent leader at the party's Welsh conference in Llandudno in November.

But the party's ruling body was split at a meeting to discuss a timetable.

BBC Wales has been told that those closer to the UK Labour party leadership wanted a decision by November, whereas others wanted more time to examine Labour's heavy Senedd election defeat.

The party has also agreed to an independent external review of where Labour went wrong.

Nominations will open in September.

There is currently no contender to stand against interim leader Ken Skates, who took over in May after the election.

In a statement Skates said: "May's election result was extremely disappointing for Welsh Labour.

"It was a clear message from voters and we take it seriously."

He said the party's Welsh Executive Committee (WEC) agreed to begin the process of electing a permanent leader in September, concluding at conference.

A source said that a vote at a meeting of the Welsh Executive Committee, which took place on Saturday, voted narrowly 12-11 in favour of the November timetable.

The source said that a permanent leader needed to be in place as quickly as possible to avoid Labour "being pushed into obscurity".

It is understood that there was a preference for an external review rather than one conducted by a party grandee.

Labour is understood to have spoken to several consultancy firms about carrying out the review, which is expected to take a number of months to complete.

One Labour source called for an "open conversation" and not an inquiry which simply came to similar conclusions to a post-election article written by the Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens, which blamed Welsh government policies including 20mph.

They feared that those who wanted to have a quicker leadership election did not want to admit there were problems with UK Labour or that the party had lost votes to Plaid Cymru.

No MSs have come forward other than Ken Skates.

Former leader and first minister Eluned Morgan stood down the day after the election after failing to win a seat in the expanded 96-seat Senedd.

The Welsh Labour leader can only be chosen from the party's group in the Senedd, but the party has just eight MSs, excluding the Llywydd or Presiding Officer Huw Irranca Davies.

Another former first minister, Mark Drakeford, has called for a contest to take place, as the party tries to rebuild and find a new way forward.

Skates has said that he does not expect there to be a leadership contest but that he would not "resent" one.

Several figures including Drakeford, Stevens and former Senedd members Alun Davies, Lee Waters and Mick Antoniw have already gone public on what they see as some of the reasons for Labour's defeat.