THE CHAIRMAN of Southampton's Itchen Conservative Association has said he is undecided whether to take up his duties again when the local party comes out of supported status.

Party bosses in London have confirmed that 86-year-old Clifford Combes still remains chairman of the local association while the party is trying to select a candidate to fight the Itchen seat.

But Mr Combes told the Daily Echo that Conservative Central Office had used "a sledgehammer to crack a nut" in declaring the party to be in supported status.

Mr Combes said: "I don't have the faintest idea where I stand. If I was chairman, why was I not in the selection meeting? I have not decided what I will do yet."

The association was put in supported status after Itchen Tories failed to select a candidate to stand in the Itchen ward to fight in May's expected general election.

The move by Conservative Central Office means that a member of the party has been nominated to help the party conduct its affairs, although senior local officers remain in their posts.

A spokesman for the Central Office said: "We want to get the association back to normal business as soon as possible, and that will only happen once we have selected a candidate."

He confirmed that Mr Combes was still chairman, and had not been removed from the chairmanship. But he had not idea how long the association would remain in supported status.

The spokesman added: "The association was put in supported status because it was not acting in line with the party constitution, two aspects of which are that it has to be an effective campaigning organisation while securing the return of a Conservative candidate at an election."

The row came after local Tories wanted the deputy leader of the Conservative group on Southampton City Council, Councillor Royston Smith, 39, to contest the seat. But the Harefield councillor's bid failed when he was not selected to be on the list of candidates.

The Conservative spokesman explained that Mr Smith was not shortlisted for the Itchen seat following a rigorous selection process.

He said he did not know why Mr Smith did not succeed but said there was no reason why he should not make their register of candidates in the future.

On Thursday, Itchen Tories met to try and select a candidate who will try to take the seat currently held by Labour's John Denham.

A second meeting is due to be held shortly when the association's membership will be invited to participate in the selection of the candidate. "We hope the selection process will be completed by the end of this month, if not by the early part of the following month with an election not too far away," added the spokesman.