GENERAL ELECTION: Labour hint at fusion between solicitors and barristersJoy at Homes Bill demiseThe legal profession went into the general election campaign happy to see the Homes Bill scuppered but concerned about reports of Labour plans which could see fusion between solicitors and barristers.

The controversial Bill - which introduces sellers' packs - is now doomed because of a lack of parliamentary time, along with other legislation, including the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, and the Adoption and Children Bill.The government blamed Conservative delaying tactics.

David Lock, parliamentary secretary at the Lord Chancellor's Department, said: 'There is a large measure of cross-party consensus about the need for reform, and this legislation could have gone through if the Conservatives had not behaved so destructively.'Michael King, chairman of the Law Society's conveyancing and land law committee, said he welcomed a telephone call he had received from the Earl of Caithness, who led Tory opposition to the Homes Bill in the Lords, assuring him that there would be no pre-election 'horse-trading' that would see the Bill pass.

Society President Michael Napier added: 'By insisting on a survey in every seller's pack and introducing criminal sanctions for those who do not comply, this bill would have actually increased the burden on the home-buying process.'Reports last week suggested that fusion of the profession will form a key part of a second-term Labour government's plans for the law.

A Labour spokesman said the party would not comment as detailed plans are set to be released shortly.Plans for the criminal justice system are said to include a single criminal court structure, curbs on the right to appeal and trial by jury, special courts for specific offences such as drugs, increased plea bargaining, disclosure of convictions to the jury, weekend and night courts, and decriminalisation of minor offences.Paula Rohan and Andrew Towler