TORY Scottish small business spokeswoman Rachael Hamilton has been exposed for advocating abolition of the national minimum wage.

The South Scotland MSP, who came third in East Lothian on May 7 and was elected for the first time from the regional list, argued that businesses should be able to pay staff as little as they want.

“Why do politicians think they have a right to decide the minimum wage? It’s businesses who pay wages,” she wrote to followers on Twitter in May 2015.

Ms Hamilton, who is spokesperson for tourism and small business at Holyrood, owns the Buccleuch Arms hotel, an Investors in People-accredited business charging up to £130 a room per night.

Her message, which was discovered by the SNP this weekend, has caused concern over the position of the Scottish Tories who are now the official opposition at Holyrood.

SNP MSP Joan McAlpine called on Ms Hamilton to “explain to her low-paid constituents why their bosses should be free to pay an even lower wage.”

She also called on Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson to clarify whether or not she agreed with Ms Hamilton’s comments.

“As an employer herself you would hope that Ms Hamilton would have a more enlightened view of workplace relations — but it appears that if you scratch the surface of Ruth Davidson’s party you get the same old Tories looking for a race to the bottom on workers’ rights and wages,” added Ms McAlpine.

Scottish TUC youth committee chair Samantha Ritchie, who represents many young workers in the hospitality sector, branded the comment “disgraceful” and said it revealed Ms Hamilton’s “blatant disregard for workers.”

“Without trade unions fighting for the increase in wages for workers, I believe some employers would pay staff virtually nothing,” she told the Star.

The row comes as research conducted by the Scottish government found that trade union membership increased by 42,000 to 730,000 between 2014 and 2015, and that Scotland was the only nation in Britain to see an increase in the proportion of workers who are union members.

The figures also revealed the benefit of trade union membership, as it showed that salaries of members are 14.1 per cent higher than non-unionised workers.

Unite Scotland community organiser Jamie Caldwell welcomed the rise in membership, saying it showed that trade unions were more relevant than ever.