Staff working for MSPs of all parties have united to protest about the proposal to introduce a differential between constituency and regional list members in the allowances used to employ them.

Staff working for MSPs of all parties have united to protest about the proposal to introduce a differential between constituency and regional list members in the allowances used to employ them.

The report by Sir Alan Langlands last week recommended a change in allowances to give constituency MSPs enough funds to hire fully one more member of staff than their regional list counterparts.

The Herald reported this week how Lord Selkirk of Douglas, former Conservative MSP and Westminster minister, had insisted on the Langlands report recording his dissent. The matter is to be discussed for the first time by the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body today.

The letter sent to Paul Grice, chief executive at the parliament, was signed by 13 SNP researchers, nine from Labour, three each from the Greens and Liberal Democrats, two from the Conservatives and one working for the independent MSP Margo MacDonald. More signed up to the protest in the course of yesterday.

The letter said the result would be some staff being paid more for doing the same job, and concludes: "The signatories of this letter represent all parties and none, demonstrating that this is not a party political issue. Rather it is an issue of fair employment practice."