KEY Merseyside seats will help decide the outcome of the most closely fought general election in a generation, the major political parties said last night.

The importance of vital marginals such as Liverpool Wavertree will be swiftly reinforced today as Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg arrives in the constituency just 24 hours after Gordon Brown finally called a May 6 election.

Other key seats in the region – Wirral South, Sefton Central, Warrington South – will determine whether the Conservatives can end 13 years of Labour rule.

Labour’s North West minister Phil Woolas rejected claims from the Electoral Reform Society that three-quarters of the Merseyside electorate will be wasting their votes on election day.

He said that key marginals in Merseyside would dictate the outcome of the election, adding: “We are not complacent . . . this is going to be a close contest and every vote will count.

“We are not taking any votes for granted. You don’t win elections by doing that.”

Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Grayling, on a visit to Liverpool yesterday, said he was confident the Tories could win the key seats.

“I am absolutely confident we can take constituencies in Merseyside, I am very confident about our prospects.”

He said the party needed to persuade people it understood their worries.

“I think [we can persuade them] by talking to them and sharing their ideas and their concerns. Campaigning in this area I have found a sense of frustration at the way the country is going.”

He pledged that a Conservative government would protect frontline public services in Merseyside.