Only two years on from the last general election, Britain faces another vote and Parliament’s healthy crop of lawyer MPs face another battle for their seats.
Wolverhampton South West’s MP, Rob Marris, is the lawyer with the narrowest majority at the moment. A former trade union solicitor, he was initially elected in 2001, then lost his seat in 2010 before winning it back in 2015 by a margin of just 801 votes. He’s now in for another fight against Conservative opposition.
The Liberal Democrats’ sole Scottish MP, Alastair Carmichael, is also in danger, having won by just 817 votes in 2015.
At the other end of the spectrum, a lawyer with one of the safest seats is barrister Shabana Mahmood. The MP for Birmingham Ladywood, she enjoys a majority of 21,868 (60.9 per cent).
The lawyers with the narrowest majorities
| Seat | Name | Party | Barrister/solicitor | First elected | Majority |
| Wolverhampton SW | Rob Marris | Lab | Solicitor | 2015 | 801 (2%) |
| Orkney and Shetland | Alastair Carmichael | Lib Dem | Solicitor | 2001 | 817 (3.6%) |
| Kingston & Surbiton | James Berry | Con | Barrister | 2015 | 2,834 (4.8%) |
| Carlisle | John Stevenson | Con | Solicitor | 2010 | 2,774 (6.5%) |
| Northampton North | Michael Ellis | Con | Barrister | 2010 | 3,245 (8.2%) |
| Norfolk North | Norman Lamb | Lib Dem | Solicitor | 2001 | 4,043 (8.2%) |
| Stockton South | James Wharton | Con | Solicitor | 2010 | 5,046 (9.7%) |
| Hammersmith | Andy Slaughter | Lab | Barrister | 2005 | 3,549 (7.5%) |
Know of other lawyers with narrower majorities than this, or lawyers who will stand for election in 2017? Email richard.simmons@thelawyer.com
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