Barrow and Furness MP John Woodcock to stand down at general election

Labour turned independent MP John Woodcock has announced that he will not stand in the forthcoming General Election because he is expecting a baby with his journalist partner.

Mr Woodcock and The Spectator magazine's assistant editor Isabel Hardman made the announcement through a letter to his Barrow and Furness constituents.

He said the "unexpected but wonderful piece of news" means his life "has to change", but that it had been the "greatest honour" of his life representing the area for nine-and-a-half years.

Mr Woodcock, who said his two daughters live with his ex-wife in Edinburgh, wrote:

Mr Woodcock, 41, had been sitting as an independent since having the Labour whip withdrawn in April 2018 pending investigation of an allegation of sexual harassment.

He denies allegations over supposedly inappropriate texts and emails to a former female staff member between 2014 and 2016.