Lucas started his career as a
chartered accountant with Farrow, Bersey, Gain, Vincent & Co and successor firms, and worked at
S. G. Warburg & Co. Ltd. from 1976 to 1988. On the death of his mother in 1991, he succeeded her as 12th
Baron Lucas and 8th
Lord Dingwall. He was a Lord in Waiting (Government Whip in the
House of Lords) during 1994–97, and the shadow Lords minister for International Development during 1997–98. He remains an active backbencher, taking a particular interest in education,
liberty,
electronic government,
planning, finance and
parking regulation. As editor of
The Good Schools Guide, Ralph Lucas has highlighted the continued improvement of state and
Special Educational Needs (SEN) schools: the first edition of
The Good Schools Guide in 1986 listed just ten
state schools – 4 per cent of the total; by the 2016 edition, more than 300 state schools were reviewed, a quarter of the 1,200 schools reviewed that year. In the 2019 edition, nearly 400 of the 1,297 schools selected for review were state schools and 140 were SEN schools. Lucas has commented on state schools as strong competitors for the most talented students, He has expressed his concerns over the dangers of charlatan tutors for very young children and rung warning bells over the ever rising fees of independent schools. Asked by a journalist why historians make the best school leaders, he replied, 'The subject combines a fascination with humanity (pretty essential to running a school well), a disciplined way with words and stories, and a deep study of how to succeed as a dictator.' Since inheriting his title and remaining through election by his peers, Ralph Lucas was active in the House of Lords. He served on committees that addressed digital skills, the regeneration of seaside towns, and digital technology & democracy. He met his third wife, Antonia Rubenstein, when serving as a patron on the prison reform charity, Safe Ground, and was instrumental in establishing the Family Man and Fathers Inside family relationships project. Ralph Lucas has been involved in encouraging a relationship between
The Eden Project and
Eastbourne. With Lady Lucas, he set up the Making Natural History project, using creative works to highlight environmental issues in and beyond Eastbourne. Lucas was appointed a
Fellow of the
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (FCA) in 1986 and is a
Liveryman of the
Worshipful Company of Mercers. ==Personal life==