Holyrood rich in experience of education and health but unfamiliar with world of business

ONLY a third of MSPs have any experience in the private sector and, of those who do, many have been either lawyers or farmers before coming to Holyrood.

Research by The Scotsman found that, of the 129 MSPs, only 51 (39 per cent) had worked in the private sector before turning to professional politics. Of these, 13 had been lawyers and eight farmers. The other 78 MSPs were either in the public sector or were full-time union officials, professional politicians or activists.

One of Archie Stirling's biggest gripes, which pushed him to set up his own party, is the lack of business experience among Scotland's politicians, and his concerns do seem to be borne out by the evidence.

Of the 78 MSPs from public-sector or political backgrounds in the parliament, 22 (28 per cent) were teachers and five were lecturers.

This means that one in every five MSPs was either a teacher or a lecturer before entering politics.

The others in the public sector were either council workers, social workers, civil servants or health service workers.

Such a wealth of experience will greatly inform debates on education, health and the civil service in Scotland, but there does seem to be an imbalance because of the absence of MSPs from other walks of life.

There are no former fishermen or women, several accountants, but only one with any banking experience, and only one former employee from Scotland's expanding financial services industry.

Labour has by far the biggest public-sector bias in its ranks. Only nine of its 50 MSPs have any private-sector experience, while the Tories are the opposite - only four of its 18 MSPs are from the public sector (three teachers and one doctor).

The Greens, however, come from the most eclectic of backgrounds, and include a playwright (Chris Ballance) and a graphic designer (Mark Ballard).