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A left-wing group within Welsh Labour is promoting a change that could make it more likely that the next First Minister is a supporter of Jeremy Corbyn.

Worried moderates are now renewing their efforts to persuade Carwyn Jones to stay on in the post until after the general election in 2020.

Swansea East AM Mike Hedges, himself a supporter of Mr Corbyn, has written a blog posting for the website of Welsh Labour Grassroots – effectively Momentum in Wales – which argues that Welsh Labour should adopt the “one member, one vote” (OMOV) system of electing a leader when Mr Jones steps down.

Currently, Welsh Labour leaders are chosen by an electoral college split into three sections: one for AMs, MPs and MEPs, another for ordinary members of the party, and the third for trade unions and other organisations affiliated to Labour like the Socialist Health Association.

But the electoral college is no longer used in elections for Labour’s overall leader, and Mr Hedges points out that other parties in Wales already use OMOV to elect their leaders.

That’s how Leanne Wood of Plaid Cymru and Andrew RT Davies of the Welsh Conservatives were elected. OMOV was also used to elect the Liberal Democrats’ federal leader Tim Farron and Paul Nuttall, the leader of Ukip.

Mr Hedges states: “It would be strange if the only party not to elect its leader via OMOV was Welsh Labour.”

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Labour’s Welsh Executive Committee is expected to consider the issue in the coming months.

A Labour source said: “This is a difficult situation, and will have an enormous bearing on who controls the party in Wales. Decision makers in Welsh Labour can’t be seen to oppose OMOV – that would be undemocratic, particularly given that moderates in the party campaigned for it to replace the electoral college over many years.

“The problem is that if Carwyn stands down as leader in 2019, as many expect him to, there is a very strong possibility that a Corbyn supporter would be elected firstly as Welsh Labour leader and then as First Minister.

“That’s something moderates would not want to see happen. If it did, the party could embark on a series of ‘loony left’ policies that would alienate the Welsh electorate and destroy Labour’s predominant position in Wales. People are therefore making the case to Carwyn that he should stay on until at least the general election in 2020.”

It is understood that former Public Services Minister Leighton Andrews is among those urging Mr Jones to stay on.

“The Labour source added: “Another problem is that unless the rules are tightened to ensure Welsh Labour is led by an AM, you could have a situation where the election was won by an MP or even an ordinary member of the party not in an elected office. That would be completely ridiculous.”

With Labour likely to be defeated in the 2020 general election, the expectation was that Mr Corbyn would resign as leader, and the party would then revert to being more moderate.