Seven more solicitors won seats in Parliament at last week's general election, including a criminal defence lawyer who scored the most unexpected of all the Conservatives' gains, meaning there are now 31 solicitors at Westminster.

David Burrowes, an assistant at Enfield firm Shepherd Harris & Co, took Enfield Southgate from former schools minister Stephen Twigg - Michael Portillo's old seat had been 114th on the Tories' list of targets and it took an 8.7% swing to produce a 1,747 majority.


As expected, David Gauke, until recently an assistant at City firm Macfarlanes, and former City solicitor Shailesh Vara took over the safe Tory seats of Hertfordshire South West and Cambridgeshire North West respectively. Human rights solicitor Sadiq Khan saw a 10,000 majority halved, but was still returned in Tooting for Labour.


Two other Tory solicitors won their party's 20th and 24th target seats with slim majorities. David Jones, senior partner of an eponymous practice in Llandudno, took Clwyd West by 133 votes, while James Brokenshire, an associate at US/UK firm Jones Day, triumphed in Hornchurch by 480.


David Mundell, a Scottish solicitor who is also qualified in England and Wales, won the new constituency of Dumfriesshire Clydesdale & Tweeddale to become the only Conservative MP north of the border. He overturned a notional Labour majority with an 8% swing.


Meanwhile, two sitting solicitor MPs fell foul of the electorate, although one of the Tories' top targets, Liberal Democrat solicitor Norman Lamb, increased a 483 majority in Norfolk North to 10,606.


Labour's Alan Hurst, a partner at Southend firm Law Hurst & Taylor and former president of Southend Law Society, saw his tiny 358 majority in Braintree wiped out by a 4% swing to the Conservatives - the seat had been fourth on their hit list.


John Taylor was one of only three Conservatives to lose their seats, a 10% swing turning his 9,407 majority in Solihull into a Liberal Democrat win by just 279.