Walsall MP Bruce George is to stand down after 36 years, the Express and Star can reveal today.

Mr George, aged 67, said he had agonised over the decision for months and that he had reached his conclusion “with the very greatest reluctance and with an extremely heavy heart”.

The MP was first elected in the Walsall South constituency in February 1974, and secured a healthy 22 per cent majority of almost 8,000 at the last general election.

He has said twice since retaining his seat in 2001 that he may not stand again, and insists that this time his decision is final.

He said a variety of reasons led to the decision, including his health, wishing to give his wife, Lisa, more time and support and to “quit while I’m ahead”.

The announcement comes two weeks after he was told he had “no issues” to address in the expenses scandal.

“I am really reluctantly standing down,” he said at his home in Park Hall. “I have been a member of Parliament for well over half my adult life and to stand down is a great wrench. One of the reasons I have made my announcement very late was that I wanted to be absolutely certain that people knew I was not running away.

“If I had announced this six months ago in the middle of the expenses saga, people would have thought ‘he is getting out because he has got something to hide’.”

Another factor for the MP was that he felt that working 60 to 70-hour weeks at his age was “pushing his luck”.