Β£138? No, it's Β£101
That's the price of democracy - or the price at any rate of the Assembly roadshows divided by the number of people who attended them. According to a written answer given to the DUP MLA the recent roadshows, meant to bring Stormont closer to the people, cost more than Β£54,690 to stage, plus an additional Β£19,759 in advertising. That gives a grand total of Β£74,449. Given that 538 people turned up to the 11 meetings that's a cost per head of Β£138.
That includes Β£5035 on a meeting at the Park Avenue hotel in East Belfast at which only one MLA turned up because of late voting at Stormont and Β£3384 for an Antrim roadshow which had to be postponed because it clashed with another late vote.
CORRECTION: Assembly officials have contacted me to point out that their Β£54,690 figure INCLUDES advertising. So I was wrong to add the two sums together - the roadshows DID NOT cost Β£74,449. That obviously has a knock on effect on my arithmetic. So what's the price of democracy? Β£101, not Β£138. Apologies to all concerned.
P.S. It also seems right to point out that the roadshow presenter Eamon Mallie either took no money for his appearances, or donated his fee to charity.
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