WIRRAL West MP Stephen Hesford is stepping down as a candidate at the forthcoming general election.

Mr Hesford, MP for the marginal constituency since 1997, said in a statement: "This difficult decision has been taken for family reasons."

He added: "I’m proud to have represented Wirral West since 1997.

"I have seen the enormous difference that Labour has made to people's lives through improvements to the NHS, the minimum wage and investment in local schools."

The statement added that the Wirral West Constituency Labour Party will now select a new candidate.

It said the group "will maintain Labour's strong fight in Wirral West campaigning for support for jobs, public services and local businesses".

At the last general election Mr Hesford beat Tory challenger Esther McVey by just over 1,000 votes.

Mr Hesford was not returning calls to the Globe today.

His decision appears to have caught his constituency office on the hop, however.

Only this morning constituents received a letter from the MP asking them to fill in a questionnaire as Mr Hesford wished "to keep the database up to date".

The letter began by saying he was contacting all constituents who had been in contact with him since he took office in 1997.

"I will have had the honour of responding to your concerns either because we have met at one of my many surgeries or you have made contact by letter, telephone, email or petition," he wrote.

"I have been contacted by around 22,600 constituents since 1997 and in order to continue to provide a high-class and efficient service, I need to take stock of where my case-load is up to."

The questionnaire, on the reverse side of the letter, asks how well his staff had treated constituents who had contacted his office; how promptly was the issue taken up; did he manage to make progress with the issue; and how did they rate Mr Hesford's performance in a series of tick boxes ranging from "excellent" to "poor".

In September last year, the former barrister resigned as a parliamentary aide to the Government law officers in the wake of the row over Attorney General Baroness Scotland's breach of immigration law.

In a letter to Prime Minister Gordon Brown, he wrote that he "cannot support the decision which allows her to remain in office".

Wirral South MP Ben Chapman announced he would not be standing for election again last year in the wake of the MPs expenses scandal.

Fellow Merseyside Labour MPs Jane Kennedy, for Wavertree, Claire Curtis-Thomas, for Crosby, are also stepping down at the election, which can take place no later than June.