HAMPSHIRE MP Mark Oaten has written a book about the affair with a male prostitute that ended his political career.

Screwing Up, which is due to be published on October 1, details how the Liberal Democrat was at the centre of one of the biggest political scandals of 2006.

It led to the Winchester MP announcing he would step down at the next election.

The MP’s publisher, Biteback, says of the book: “This is the story of a man obsessed by retaining his youth, fearful of turning 40 and feeling a complete failure.

“It’s the story of coping with media scandal, and of how he and his wife Belinda managed to save their marriage, as well as his own recent decision to leave politics for the unknown."

It adds: “Screwing Up is not a political memoir but the deeply touching and human story of a man at his wits’ end, trying to cope with the onset of middle age.”

The book, while offering an insight into the working life of a constituency MP, is also said to deal with former party leader Charles Kennedy’s battle with alcoholism.

Mr Oaten said: “I don’t intend to cause the party embarrassment by dragging up these issues.

“The book is an honest account of stress, depression and what it’s like to be caught in the eye of a scandal.”

Mr Oaten, who was the Lib Dems’ home affairs spokesman, a job now occupied by Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne, entered the race to succeed Mr Kennedy, but withdrew shortly before details of how he paid male prostitutes for sex acts surfaced.

The father-of-two blamed a mid-life crisis sparked by a dissatisfaction with politics and going prematurely bald.

The revelations divided his constituents.

A Daily Echo survey of 1,000 voters found 58 per cent wanted him to quit immediately, but a significant minority backed him to carry on as their representative.

The MP was first elected in Winchester in 1997, by a majority of only two votes, but was returned after a by-election with a majority of 20,000.

The release of the book has been timed to coincide with the Lib Dems’ party conference in Bournemouth.

The Daily Echo first revealed Mr Oaten’s plans for a book in July 2006.

In an exclusive interview, he said: “I would like to write a book about my experiences and do more work in the media, but there are no firm plans yet.”

The book will sell for £19.99.