THE SNP have claimed that Douglas Lumsden could cost taxpayers over £1 million in AI questions if elected in the forthcoming Aberdeen South by-election.
The Tory list MSP for North East Scotland was under fire earlier this year after it was revealed that he had asked a total of 1339 written Holyrood questions between November 1, 2024 and April 30, 2025.
In a written response to SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson, Parliamentary Business Minister Graeme Dey said the average cost of answering a written question is £138.07, with each taking an average of 3 hours and 40 minutes to process – with 1339 questions thus allegedly equating to a potential £184,875.73.
But now, Lumsden is attempting to swap Holyrood for Westminster in the Aberdeen South by-election on Thursday – which came about after Stephen Flynn quit the Commons to become an MSP.
The contest looks like a two-horse race between the Tories and the SNP, with the latter warning that the cost of submitting written questions in Westminster is significantly higher than Holyrood.
According to the House of Commons library, the cost of submitting a question was estimated to be £164 in 2012 – which they estimate to be £237 in 2025/2026 prices.
Departments, meanwhile, are allowed to refuse questions if the expected cost of answering it exceeds £850.
The SNP said that means that if Lumsden repeated his “lazy antics”, taxpayers could be stumping up £326,000 at the average cost – and up to £1.17 million if each question cost the maximum amount.
"1000 jobs are being lost every month thanks to the Tories' windfall tax with investment driven away and our supply chains put at risk - the Tories cannot wash their hands of the damage they have caused in Aberdeen,” the SNP candidate for Aberdeen South, Richard Thomson, told The National.
“While the SNP was demanding an end to the hated windfall tax, Douglas Lumsden was asking questions about the number of tomato sauce sachets used in the Scottish Parliament canteen – the opposite of a serious politician.”
He added: “People in Aberdeen South deserve better another Tory politician who will let down our city and become a massive drain on taxpayer resources – the last thing people here need is another time and money wasting Tory talking to Chat GPT while sitting on the backbenches of Westminster.
“The public expect their politicians to act responsibly – and I know must people in the North East would be mortified at their MP wasting over a million quid on AI generated questions.
“That’s exactly why on the 18th of June voters must unite behind the SNP – to protect energy jobs, for investment in the North East and to elect an MP that will be strong voice for Aberdeen South, not a time and money wasting Tory.”
The Scottish Tories have been approached for comment.
