In an exclusive interview with the Hartlepool Mail, a calculated snub to the media who "shafted him", Peter Mandelson has vowed to fight on for "Hartlepool and the people".

"I'm going to concentrate on being a good constituency MP. I intend to fight for Hartlepool and its people," he said.

Mandelson rang his local newspaper late on Wednesday night ending speculation that he was to stand down before a spring general election.

"I've got a house full of junk to sort out," the former cabinet minister said of his immediate plans.

Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Hartlepool, Gus Robinson, has welcomed the fact that Peter Mandelson will now have plenty of time for local politics."It will help my campaign to become the town's MP from the point of view that Mr Mandelson and myself will now be able to engage in debate, with Mr Mandelson more easily available now that he will no longer be tied up with dealing with issues in Northern Ireland," he said.

But not everyone is happy with the promises of a closer association between the MP and his constituency fearing that Mandelson's reputation could rival Hartlepool's other claim to notoriety. Legend has it that local fisherman hanged a shipwrecked monkey mistaken as a French spy during the Napoleonic wars in the early 19th century.

Hartlepool mayor, Frank Rogers told the Hartlepool Mail that: "This doesn't do the image of the town any good. For years and years we have battle to overcome the tales of monkey hanging, and the like, and we now have a town in which we can be proud. Unfortunately, Mr Mandelson and what has happened could now become synonymous with Hartlepool."