UNDER normal circumstances it would be a fairly safe bet to say that provided they keep well and still want the job, Philip Dunne will still be MP for Ludlow and Harriett Baldwin for Tenbury for some time to come.

But for Philip Dunne that is far from certain and that is not because there is any prospect of any major swing against the Conservatives but because changes proposed by the Boundary Commission in Shropshire are drastic.

In Tenbury it is different because the Boundary Commission proposals are much less dramatic and, according to what is proposed, Tenbury would sit at the western end of a new constituency known as Malvern and Ledbury.

The Boundary Commission proposals are just that at this stage and open to consultation so nothing is set in stone.

The other issue that comes into play is when the next general election takes place because, if some pundits are to be believed, this may well be before any Boundary Commission rules are implemented.

With a new Prime Minister and new people in most of the major positions in government together with new policies like more grammar schools, there is a strong argument that Theresa May does not have, and needs, a mandate.

No doubt, given the current situation Mrs May would love a general election and in the circumstances would be justified in calling for one.

However, it is not nearly that simple anymore because in 2011 the coalition government introduced the Fixed Term Parliament Act.

As the name suggests, this sets a fixed term parliament to run for five years. Therefore, the next general election is set for May 2020.

There are circumstances that can bring about a general election within the fixed term, so what are the rules?

In short, it is in the hands of parliament. If two thirds of MPs vote for a general election then we would have one but this would, of course, require members from both main parties to back such a move and it is difficult to conceive of at situation in which both the Conservative and Labour Party wanted a general election at the same time.

The other way is for there to be a successful vote of no confidence in Mrs May’s government and if this came to pass there would have to be a cooling-off period to see if anyone else could form a government. If not, and only then, there could be a general election.

Problem is, when one party has a parliamentary majority, albeit a small one, a vote of no confidence is almost inconceivable, at least in the world as we have known it.

However, there is nothing to stop the Conservatives manufacturing a vote of no confidence backed by its own MPs but this would be seen as hugely cynical.

It could also result in an Alice in Wonderland situation in which Conservatives who want a general election voted against their own government while the opposition parties that do not want one voted for the government.

That would be very strange but we live in strange times in which odd has become the new normal.