THE former Mayor of Harrow, Councillor Lurline Champagnie, may be barred from standing in next spring's Council elections as it is rumoured she has been deselected by her local party.

The Conservative Councillor, who represents Pinner ward, was allegedly omitted from the list of potential councillors drawn up by Harrow West Conservative Association at a meeting of its selection panel last week. If confirmed, the move is unusual since the approval of sitting councillors is normally a formality, and is all the more surprising because Councillor Champagnie served as Mayor in the year prior to May 2005.

A source close to the council said: "It's very rare for a long-serving councillor to be deselected, especially a former mayor and the first black mayor the Conservatives have had. She must really have done something to get on the wrong side of them. The decision comes down to a meeting with only a handful of people in the room, but that's local democracy for you."

Jamaican-born Councillor Champagnie has represented Pinner on the council since 1986. It has been claimed that she promised to stand down as a councillor after serving a year as mayor, and that her reversal of this decision displeased the Association. Another controversial aspect of her term as Mayor was her use of the casting vote last October to deny Council Leader Navin Shah a place on the Association of London Government.

But the Chair of Harrow West Conservative Association, Councillor Myra Michael, said: "Every time councillors are appointed there is a selection process that they must go through. It is not a case of being deselected, every councillor must apply to be reselected. This process is still ongoing."

Councillor Champagnie said that she was not prepared to comment at this stage.

Councillor Chris Mote, Conservative Leader on Harrow Council, also said that he could not comment as selection was a matter for the local association.