HOLYROOD'S highly paid MSPs are going to have to work a bit harder for their cash in the next few months.

The pampered politicians go back to Parliament on Monday, 17 days after they went on holiday, and have had to give up their usual nine days off in February because they still have a backlog of legislation to pass before the elections in May.

Do not feel too sorry for them, though, because they will still be stopping again at the beginning of April, though, of course, the inconvenient business of getting re-elected means some of them will not be re-boarding the gravy train.

One important piece of business that should be well under way before they rise, however, is agreement on raising the legal age for buying tobacco from 16 to 18.

The legislation will not kick in until October, but with the current Executive and the SNP committed to the proposal there should be little difficulty in finalising the plans - even if there is a change of government.

Almost everyone will agree the move should help reduce the number of people with preventable diseases and is therefore a good thing.

But it raises questions about how much further Scotland's politicians intend to go in turning the country into a nanny state.

When the law is introduced, 16-year-olds will not legally be able to buy tobacco, but they will be able to get married or join the Armed Forces - decisions at least as important as whether to buy a packet of fags.

So they can start a family and be trained to kill, but they can't vote.

Surely there are some enterprising politicians who would want to review the age limits for those anomalies in the next session of Parliament?

ONE piece of legislation MSPs from all parties could get behind is Tommy Sheridan's Bill to ban the use of airguns.

There was plenty of tough talk from Labour leaders after the death of Easterhouse toddler Andrew Morton over banning them, but it was mostly hot air.

Most MSPs will put party politics before backing the Solidarity leader - especially before an election.

However, with his mastery over publicity and ability to seize on issues people care about, this will help build his election profile.

He will be vying for votes in Glasgow on the same turf as his former Trot playmates in the SSP, such as Rosie Kane, but unless they can be as convincing, the competition could be one-sided.

THE January sales may be drawing to a close, but the chain stores' offers will pale into insignificance as the parties outbid each other in the great political giveaway.

Desperate for power, they will promise huge investment in anything they think will win votes.

One of the more inventive this week was the SNP's £10million plan for new entrants to farming which, you will be shocked to hear, has won the backing of industry leaders.

Farmers accepting more handouts - who would have thought?

Meanwhile, SNP chieftain Alex Salmond - the man who would be First Minister - is facing demands that he resign his Banff and Buchan seat to fight the neighbouring Gordon constituency to get to Holyrood.

If he won, he would represent two constituencies, one at Holyrood, the other at Westminster - a nice little earner by any standards.

Much of the criticism of the thin Salmond spread has come from the LibDems, who seem to have memory problems.

They have apparently forgotten that their own elder statesman, Donald Gorrie, got away with the same thing when he represented Edinburgh West at Westminster and Central Scotland at Holyrood.