OCHIL AND PERTHSHIRE SOUTH

If it wasn’t for Theresa May calling a snap general election, it is very possible that Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh would have only served a single term as the SNP’s MP for the constituency.

This is, of course, because Ochil and South Perthshire was for the chop under boundary reviews seeking to reduce the number of politicians sitting in the Commons from 650 to 600.

Labour’s Gordon Banks was the protagonist in a familiar story on election night 2015, a candidate who had won multiple elections swept aside by a tidal wave of SNP support.

Ms Ahmed-Sheikh, with her 10,168 majority, should be confident going into this new round of voting.

Indeed, it may well be her main rival does not come from the party that traditionally held the seat.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but all indications are that the Conservatives are more likely to challenge the SNP than Labour in this constituency. The Tories did well in both Clackmannanshire and Perthshire, the two areas that make up the Westminster seat, in the council elections, while Liz Smith cut environment secretary Roseanna Cunningham’s majority to 1,422 with a swing of 9.9% towards the Tories in last year’s Holyrood vote.

All of this points to a change in second place and the seat being in play come 2022 – if it still exits by that election.