A MAVERICK councillor has suffered an unprecedented snub after political rivals failed to endorse him as the next mayor of Basingstoke and Deane.

Councillor Phil Heath, the current deputy mayor, was set to have his nomination as borough mayor for 2010-11 confirmed at the next full council meeting of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council on Thursday.

But in an unexpected development, not enough councillors supported Cllr Heath’s nomination on a form that had to be signed in time for the meeting.

The snub means the Basingstoke First Community Party member will now have to wait until the next full council meeting on February 11, 2010, to know for sure that he has the necessary backing to be the next borough mayor.

Under borough council rules, the position of borough mayor goes to the most senior councillor, providing they have the backing of at least seven members who are not up for election the following year.

Councillors were sent an email from the mayor’s office, informing them that they could sign Cllr Heath’s nomination form, located in the mayor’s office, two weeks before the deadline at 12.30pm on Monday, November 30.

Cllr Heath said that by the deadline, no councillors had signed the form. After the deadline had passed, Labour councillors Paul Harvey and Laura James subsequently collected seven signatures from members – including Cllr Heath himself – by the next day, but the nomination form was completed too late to be considered at the upcoming council meeting.

The Gazette understands that not one eligible councillor from the Conservative Party – Cllr Heath was expelled from the Conservatives in 2008 following an alleged argument between him and the agent for the Basingstoke Conservative Association – or the Liberal Democrats signed his nomination form.

Cllr Heath, who represents the Hatch Warren and Beggarwood ward and has been on the council for 18 years, said: “It looks like there’s a considerable number of my ex-colleagues who did not want to sign the form.

“It’s sad. It does take a bit of the gloss off things and quite honestly I can think of a couple of Conservatives that I have helped over the years. All that seems to have evaporated.”

He added that the delay in his endorsement will mean he will not be able to work on choosing his charities and make plans for his time as mayor until next year.

Conservative group leader Cllr Mark Ruffell said there was no party policy against signing the nomination paper.

He told The Gazette: “It’s up to every councillor to make up their own minds to see if he’s fit and proper to be the mayor. If he’s had trouble finding nominations, it says more about him than it does about us.”

Cllr Harvey said he could not remember a time when not enough councillors have signed the nomination form for the prospective borough mayor, or a time when the nomination deadline was rigidly enforced.

He said: “It is so disappointing that the process has been politicised like this. Why is the council trying to politicise the nomination of the mayor? It should be just done on seniority as it has always been done.”

Following receipt of the completed form, an additional note has now been added to Thursday’s agenda by borough chief executive Tony Curtis.

It reads: “Subsequent to the agenda going to print and to the deadline for a valid nomination, a nomination with the assent of seven continuing members of the council was received by the chief executive. That nomination can be considered at the next meeting of the council on February 11.”