WORCESTERSHIRE’S MPs will be breathing a sigh of relief despite changes to the make-up of four out of six county constituencies.

There had been rumours that at least one of the county’s MPs might lose their seat as part of the boundary review that will see the number of parliamentary constituencies in England cut from 533 to 502 in time for the next general election.

Peter Luff, MP for Mid- Worcestershire, and Harriett Baldwin, MP for West Worcestershire, will trade 10 wards between them with the latter gaining a further eight from Bill Wiggin’s North Herefordshire constituency.

Mr Luff will lose Droitwich to Sajid Javid, the MP for Bromsgrove. Karen Lumley, who represents Redditch, will gain the towns of Alvechurch and Hollywood, and two other wards, from him – but the seats of Wyre Forest and Worcester will remain the same.

That will give some hope to Labour in a predominantly Conservative county as the party held onto the city’s seat for 13 years between 1997 and 2010.

The proposals released today by the Boundary Commission for England – an independent body – are the first move in a UK-wide scheme to cut the number of parliamentary seats from 650 to 600 in a bid to iron out discrepancies in the size of constituencies.

Rules state each constituency must contain between 72,810 and 80,473 electors, although there are some exceptions. The biggest changes locally relate to Mr Luff and Mrs Baldwin but the pair, who were both voted in with large majorities at the last general election, are unlikely to be concerned about the safety of their seats.

Mr Luff, a Conservative defence minister, said: “It’s too early to say what impact this will have.

“It’s quite complex but some of what is being proposed is quite surprising.

“I’m not convinced it will endure closer scrutiny but it’s too early to make a judgement.”

In response to the idea that the changes will not make much difference to Mr Luff’s share of the vote he said: “It’s not about that – you develop relationships over the years and some will be severed.”

Mrs Baldwin, a Conservative backbencher, said she would study the proposals before making representations.

“In the meantime I am working hard every day for the West Worcestershire constituency, which continues to exist until 2015,” she said.

A public consultation runs until December 5. The results of this will be used to revise the plans.

Final proposals have to be sent to Parliament by October 2013.

To have your say write to: Boundary Commission for England, 35 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BQ, or e-mail westmidlands@bcommengland.x.gsi.gov.uk