MPs in Birmingham face the prospect of a bitter battle for survival after it was announced that the city is to lose a constituency.

The number of MPs representing the city is to be cut from ten to nine.

And in a series of sweeping changes which are likely to be controversial, the city is to share MPs with Solihull and the Black Country.

The changes have been unveiled today by the Boundary Commission, which has conducted a review after the Government announced the number of seats in the UK would be cut from 650 to 600.

Birmingham Hodge Hill seat, currently held by high-profile Labour MP Liam Byrne, and Selly Oak, held by Labour’s Steve McCabe, will both be abolished.

A new seat, to be named Harborne, will be created, taking in much of the existing seat of Edgbaston, which is held by MP Gisela Stuart.

Around half of the existing Selly Oak seat will become part of the Hall Green constituency, currently held by MP Roger Godsiff.

The complicated changes mean that four MPs - Mr Byrne, Mr McCabe, Ms Stuart and Mr Godsiff - will need to fight for the right to represent the Labour party in just three seats - Hall Green, Edgbaston and Harborne - at the next election.

Mr Byrne could also attempt to become MP for Ladywood, as around half of his existing Hodge Hill seat is set to become part of the Ladywood constituency.

But this would mean challenging up and coming Labour MP Shabana Mahmood, the current MP for Ladywood, for the Labour nomination.

Labour party activists could be called upon to decide which MPs are allowed to stand again in Birmingham seats at the next election.

Alternatively, a bitter internal battle could be avoided if one of the existing MPs agrees to retire voluntarily, but there is currently no sign of that happening.

Another option would be for a sitting Labour MP - probably Mr Byrne - to become Labour candidate for the Liberal Democrat stronghold of Yardley, and take on sitting Lib Dem MP John Hemming at the next election.

In other changes, residents in the Birmingham ward of Sheldon will be represented by the MP for Solihull.

And the Birmingham ward of Soho becomes part of the Black Country seat of Smethwick.

But Warley - a ward in the Black Country - will become part of the new Birmingham Harborne seat.

Another change which is likely to be controversial is the decision to take the ward of Sutton New Hall out of the seat of Sutton Coldfield and move it into Erdington - while the Erdington seat of Kingstanding moves into Sutton Coldfield.

Sutton MP Andrew Mitchell (Con) said: “Sutton Coldfield has a very strong sense of identity and a change like this would need a very strong justification, which I certainly haven’t heard so far.”

Many of the MPs affected by the changes insisted they needed more time to study them before commenting.

John Hemming (Lib Dem Yardley) said: “Some of these changes look strange to me. These are proposals and not the final changes, and they now go out for consultation.”

The political map of the Black County has also been torn up after radical boundary changes.

>> Next page: Details of changes to the Black Country constituencies >>