I’d like to see the salary of the Members of the Scottish Parliament capped at the median Scottish full-time income (currently £39,719). As the first step, I have sent an email to the Scottish Government official email address, as well as to all of ‘my’ new MSPs. Once I get a response to that, I intend to start a formal petition on the Parliament website. If you think this would be a sensible idea, I suggest you email your MSPs too.

An email to the Scottish Government:

I’d like to ask the new Scottish Government to bring forward legistation that (a) permanently sets MSP salaries at the level of median Scottish income for full-time employment, adjusted annually based on previous year’s data (a salary of £39,719 based on data from October 2025), and (b) sets any additional salaries and payments arising out of MSPs extra duties (for parliamentary offices, Government positions, severance pay, etc.) proportionally to the adjustment of the base salary (a reduction by the factor of 1.95).

Rationale

It has become clear during the previous parliamentary session that the members of the Scottish Parliament of all parties are wholly detached from the day to day experience of the people of Scotland, with their legislative agendas and priorities not matching the lived experience of the nation; the £77,711 is without a doubt a major contributing factor in this perspective skew. Salary of £77,711 puts Scottish MSPs into the to 7% percentile of all UK earners, alongside those working in highly skilled professional jobs that require extensive formal qualifications and / or long practical experience. The MSP position requires neither, and, to put it into perspective, money saved by capping the 129 MSP salaries at the Scottish median would fund 129 band-5 nurses.

Undoubtedly, arguments can be made against such a reduction on the basis of the hard work involved, responsibility, the cost living in Edinburgh, cost of travel, etc. These are moot points, both because such are part of the day to day lived experience of every ordinary Scot, so there is no justification for shielding MSPs from them (the working conditions of the putative 129 band-5 nurses are worth keeping in mind), but also because the Scottish Parliament is able to affect a material change of such realities through their legislative powers (e.g., rent controls, public transport and other public infrastructure investments, etc.) – having MSPs renumerated with a typical, rather than hightly exceptional, salary would undoubtedly make them more engaged with the day to day realities of Scottish living and receptive to their constituents needs.

I believe that the Scottish median full-time salary would represent a fair renumeration for the MSP role, particularly once the generous pension and severance provisions are taken into account, and that a readjustment is necessary in order for the Scottish Parliament to serve the needs of the nation.