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 Chief political correspondent John Morrison"There is no job brief for MSPs"  real 28k |
Rift grows between MSPs
The two groups sit side by side in the chamber |
Tension is growing between the two types of politicians elected to sit in the Scottish Parliament.
Many constituency MSP's are angry that members who were elected on the regional list are abusing their position.
A report from a cross-party group, setting out rules of conduct, has done nothing to heal the rift.
There are two groups of MSPs, the largest being the 73 who won on a first past the post basis in a constituency.
Defining roles
The remaining 56 were elected from "lists" on a proportional basis in a region whose area can include whole or part of constituencies.
These overlaps have been the source of problems between the two groups of MSPs, who are striving to define their roles.
Many Labour MSPs say that Scottish National Party members are targeting individual constituencies at the taxpayers' expense in the hope of winning the seat at the next election.
Others complain that list MSPs are trying to pass themselves off as the directly elected member.
Different functions
The report by the cross-party group, led by Deputy Presiding Officer George Reid, tries to set out rules on members' different functions.
The Labour group in the parliament has already refused to accept the report and is likely to produce its own document.
The Lib Dems have deferred a decision but many are furious because the report does not recognise that constituency members have a different relationship with the electorate.
The SNP group has accepted the report, describing it "fair an reasonable". A spokesman said the only alternative to rules were no rules.
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