The high cost of Holyrood

ROBIN Gilmour is correct when he says Scottish devolution has been a “non-productive and extremely expensive talking-shop parliament”.

On average MSPS cost taxpayers at least £190,000 each for their offices, salaries and expenses. There are 129 MSPS with a basic salary of £81,932. The First Minister gets £157,861 and ministers £94,821. These are salaries that these people would never earn in real life.

It will also be remembered that the estimate to build the Scottish Parliament would “only cost” £40 million and open in 2001. It eventually opened in 2004 at a cost of £414 million and suffered from ongoing repair costs. There are also more than 1,000 staff and civil servants.

The Scottish Government is keen on referendums so, as Mr Gilmour suggests, we need one on whether Scottish taxpayers still want devolution. Clark Cross, Linlithgow.