THE SNP has been accused of a "wholesale abuse" of parliamentary motions at Westminster after the party spent an estimated £160,000 of public money in one year tabling them.

The party has previously come under fire for putting forward bizarre motions, including one to celebrate the 50th birthday of Star Trek.

Conservative MP Sir Desmond Swayne raised the issue during the weekly business statement in the Commons and accused the party of "wholesale abuse and trivialisation" of early day motions[EDMs].

David Lidington, the Commons leader told his Tory colleague that he believed the parliamentary motions were an “overrated currency” and was surprised that SNP MPs had been spending “so much time tabling early day motions on subjects that range from Christmas trees to the anniversary of the first screening of Star Trek”.

He added: “They need to be a little bit careful because a number of us are coming to the conclusion that they find that they haven't got enough work to do and their constituents would be somewhat shocked at finding that out."

Earlier this year, The Herald reported on how, by the time of the anniversary of the 2015 General Election, SNP MPs accounted for tabling almost 44 per cent of all EDMs at a cost to the public purse of around £160,000; each one is estimated to cost around £270.

It was calculated that if the rate of tabling parliamentary motions continued, then the overall cost by the end of the five-year Parliament could, among SNP MPs alone, approach £1 million.

The SNP has previously defended the tabling of EDMs by its MPs, saying: “EDMs are just one of the many ways that the SNP's MPs can ensure the voices of their constituents and local communities are heard loud and clear at Westminster."

They allow MPs to raise any subject matter they wish; many relate to local constituency issues. But they are rarely debated at Westminster.

The issue of parliamentary motions has proved controversial in the past, when, before online use became popular, administrative costs were much higher due to an increased level of printing. In 2010, for example, they cost £1 million a year.

In 2013, the Commons Procedure Committee published a report on EDMs and recommended no change, saying they continued to be "popular and remain a valuable tool for those MPs who use them".

Yet some MPs believe them to be "trivial and narcissistic" and simply a means of congratulating local constituents.