Few careers have sunk so low in public opinion as politics. But that has not stopped bankers, fund managers and City lawyers making the move to public office, with a number of senior financial services professionals standing for election to the UK Parliament on May 6.

Sajid Javid, a Conservative candidate for Bromsgrove in Worcestershire and a former credit trading head at Deutsche Bank, said: "Going from being a banker to looking to be an MP, it is good preparation to know what it's like to be in a profession that isn't very admired by the public."