Solicitor MPs on tightrope

GENERAL ELECTION: only five out of 40 candidates look certain to enter Parliament

The number of solicitors in parliament could fall after next week's general election, with ten of the sitting 25 solicitor MPs defending majorities of less than 5,000 while few of the 40 prospective candidates are in safe seats.Most at risk are Conservative backbenchers Patrick Nicholls (Teignbridge) and former Clifford Chance lawyer David Ruffley (Bury St Edmunds), who are defending majorities of 281 and 368 respectively.

Mr Nicholls is still a partner at Exeter firm Dunn & Baker.Fellow Tories Nigel Waterson (Eastbourne, majority 1,994) and one-time Freshfields lawyer Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury, majority 1,606) are also looking over their shoulders.

The most susceptible Labour solicitor MP is Alan Hurst (Braintree), who is defending a majority of just 1,451.

John Burnett, the Liberal Democrats' legal affairs spokesman, has a 1,957 majority in his Torridge and Devon West seat.The other solicitor MPs defending sub-5,000 majorities are: arch Tory Euro-sceptic Bill Cash (Stone, 3,818) and Labour members Michael Foster (Hastings and Rye, 2,560), Keith Darvill (Upminster, 2,770) and David Kidney (Stafford, 4,314).There are around 40 solicitors also trying to get into parliament: those known include 19 for the Tories, just two for Labour, 15 for the Lib Dems, one for Plaid Cymru, and two for the Socialist Alliance.Tories Jonathan Djanogly (Huntingdon), Greg Knight (Yorkshire N) and former social security minister Alistair Burt (Bedfordshire NE) are seen as having safe seats.

Mr Djanogly, a corporate finance partner at City firm SJ Berwin, said he is likely to keep an interest in the partnership after the election to help 'keep my feet on the ground'.CMS Cameron McKenna solicitor Shailesh Vara - touted by some as potentially Britain's first Asian prime minister - needs just a 1% swing to take Northampton South from Labour.

The only other Tory solicitor who needs a small swing is Steve Barclay in Lancaster & Wyre (2.2%).Of the two Labour solicitors, Ian Lucas (Wrexham) is fighting a safe seat and is certain to win, as is Plaid Cymru's Eilian Williams in Ynys Mn.

None of the Lib Dems is standing in a seat held by the party.

The most likely winners are Norman Lamb in North Norfolk, who needs a 2% swing, and Emily Gasson in North Dorset and Richard De Ste Croix in Southend, who both need 5% swings, all from the Conservatives.Law Society staff member Chris Bramall contests the Labour seat of Stourbridge for the Lib Dems, who came a poor third in 1997.See feature, page 20Neil Rose