Legal profession boasts four Scots MPs

Lawyers took centre-stage as the results of the general election triggered a seismic shift in Scotland's political landscape.

Two Scottish lawyers were newly elected to the House of Commons and another two were re-elected as MPs - as the Scottish National Party (SNP) took 56 of the 59 seats up for grabs north of the border.

Joanna Cherry won the Edinburgh South West seat for the SNP, seeing off fellow advocate and Conservative candidate Gordon Lindhorst in the process.

The SNP also gained Dumfries and Galloway thanks to Richard Arkless, a former solicitor who practised in both Edinburgh and Cheshire.

Once all the results had been confirmed Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats were left with just one seat each in Scotland.

Former solicitor David Mundell retained his Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale seat for the Tories while islanders re-elected Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael - a former solicitor and procurator fiscal depute - in the Orkney and Shetland constituency.

Another former solicitor, shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander, meanwhile, lost his Paisley and Renfrewshire South seat to 20-year-old SNP candidate Mhairi Black.

Copyright Press Association 2015