The majority of councillors elected to the Scottish Parliament will not step down from their local government jobs before next year’s elections.
The Conservatives, Labour and the Greens will not seek to trigger a clutch of by-elections, amid concerns about the cost so soon after a Scottish election which drained resources.
Labour has suggested that contesting a council by-election can cost as much as £35,000 - and if all fourteen councillors elected to Holyrood stood down the total cost could be half a million pounds.
The Tories saw seven of their councillors elevated to Holyrood, while two Scottish Labour councillors and one Scottish Green are now MSPs. All will continue to represent their wards.
However, the SNP could force by-elections in four Scottish wards with newly elected MSPs Gail Ross, Mairi Evans, Fulton MacGregor and Ruth Maguire yet to confirm whether they will stand down.
That would see contests fought in Wick in the Highlands, Brechin and Edzell in Angus, Coatbridge North and Glenboig in North Lanarkshire and Irvine West in North Ayrshire.
A spokesman for the governing party – which is top of the Scottish political rich list, with a membership of more than 110,000 – also declined to comment on whether the councillors would continue to claim a local government wage of around £17,000 on top of their MSP salary of £58,000.
“Our new MSPs are currently in the process of setting up their constituency offices, hiring staff and arranging surgeries,” said the spokesman. “The four new MSPs who are currently councillors will be setting out their plans in the near future.”
Meanwhile, all but one of the seven Scottish Conservative councillors elected as MSPs will hand over their local government salary.
Douglas Ross and Alexander Stewart will decline remuneration while Ross Thomson, Maurice Corry, Finlay Carson and Jeremy Balfour are expected to give the cash to charities.
But East Kilbride West Councillor Graham Simpson has put himself at odds with the party by confirming he will take a salary as a councillor and an MSP in the coming year, despite meetings of South Lanarkshire Council and the Scottish Parliament regularly clashing.
A Scottish Conservative source close to the leadership, who asked not to be named, said: “It has been made very clear by the party that those who are both councillors and MSPs are expected not to benefit from a council salary.”
Mr Simpson confirmed his decision today but declined to offer an explanation.
He said: “No comment…but your information is correct.”
Mark Ruskell, a Scottish Greens councillor for Dunblane and Bridge of Allan, who is now MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, said: “At a time of austerity, when there is unprecedented pressure on public services, I would be extremely uncomfortable taking a second salary from the public purse.
“I am acutely aware of the challenges presented by the cuts we are facing in local government and I personally can’t justify it.”
The two Scottish Labour councillors who are staying on are Central Scotland MSP Monica Lennon and South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth.
Mr Smyth, a councillor for Nith in Dumfries and Galloway, will hand his local government salary to charities, and Ms Lennon, who represents the South Lanarkshire ward of Hamilton North and East, will refuse her wage.
Mr Smyth said: “A by-election would cost tens of thousands of pounds to run, with potentially two in Dumfries and Galloway.
“Although I will continue as a councillor for a few months, I’ll be donating the council salary on a monthly basis to a number of local good causes and also charities I support.”
Ms Lennon said: “I have informed the council that they will not need to go to the trouble and expense of holding a by-election, which would cost taxpayers around £35,000.
“It's a personal choice, but I have also decided not to take my council salary of just under £17,000 for the remainder of my time as councillor.
“At a time when people across Central Scotland are bearing the brunt of SNP and Tory cuts to public services, I’m disappointed that Graham Simpson, who must see the impact of these cuts in South Lanarkshire like I do, has decided to keep both salaries.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives confirmed that all seven councillors who were elected MSPS will not step down and all but one will not take a local government salary.
He added: “Given it's less than a year until the local government elections, I'd be surprised if anyone did step down.”
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