On expenses.

So, Labour MP for Aberdeen North Frank Doran MP, claimed over one hundred and seventy thousand pounds in expenses in the last financial year, topping the list of expenses claimed by Scotland's 59 Westminster MPs, with the Speaker of the House, Michael Martin MP, perhaps unsurprisingly bringing up the rear of the political Scotia Nostra with a more modest claim.

Now Mr Smith has no problem with MPs making claims for running constituency offices or even having to fly back and forth to London and beyond, but he is concerned at the lack of transparency in the process governing how MPs spend public money, by for example by employing family members, claiming for London accommodation, which they then sell on making a tidy profit, and even making the odd undetailed car mileage claim.

The public scrutiny is welcomed, but we need more information to make an informed judgement about what our elected representatives are up to.