Hamish Macdonell - many questions, double standards

THERE appears to be a clear absence of joined-up thinking from the Nationalists at Holyrood.
Ian McKee has just put down a motion condemning one MSP (Labour's George Foulkes) for putting down so many parliamentary questions.
The Nats believe Lord Foulkes is often mischievous and only asks questions to embarrass the SNP.
Mr McKee reckons that, at a cost of nearly £100 per question, Foulkes has run up a bill of £100,000 so far this session, something he condemns in his motion.
Fair enough, if it wasn't for the fact that the SNP use the device of written questions as a barometer of how well their MPs and MSPs are doing.
The SNP regularly publish graphs showing how many written questions their members have tabled.
Just last month, the SNP press office circulated a table showing the vast number Alex Salmond had asked at Westminster to justify their claims that he was a very hard-working MP.
By the SNP's own calculations, Lord Foulkes is not just a hard-working MSP but probably the hardest working MSP in the parliament.
Surely Mr McKee (and his co-signatories Bill Kidd and Christopher Harvie) should have done some research on the SNP's approach to this issue before condemning it, particularly as the motion ends by saying: we "request all members to consider whether their question is really necessary before incurring yet more public expense".
A great ideal, without a doubt, but have they told Mr Salmond and all their colleagues at Holyrood and Westminster?
ends