This letter was sent out by Ian Green of Greentrax Recordings to every MSP to encourage them to support traditional arts. He has had quite a few responses so far.

30th September, 2005.

Circulation:
All Members of The Scottish Parliament.

Dear MSP,

I write to you regarding concerns I have about Members of the Scottish Parliament and their apparent current lack of awareness of and attitude to Scottish Traditional Arts, traditional music and song in particular.

When the Scottish Executive came into being there was a huge patriotic outcry from newly elected M.S.P.s in support of Scotland’s identity and culture. It seemed at long last Scottish Traditional Arts, sorely neglected by ‘London’ for so long, would achieve the recognition it so richly deserved and reap the benefits from an enlightened Scottish Parliament. Even the Grand Opening of the Scottish Parliament was graced by a performance of “A Man’s A Man For A’ That”, which struck the right chord for all and further enhanced the expectation that a ‘wind of change’ was blowing. In the short term there was a glimmer of hope and some progress but, alas, complacency appears to have set in and the declining interest amongst very many M.S.P.s is apparent to those actively promoting Scottish Traditional Arts. An example of this occurred in December, 2004, when only one M.S.P. attended the Scots Trad Awards, despite several being invited. Quite frankly that was a disgrace and inexcusable - and does not bode well for the future of Scottish traditional music and song at government level!

Scotland’s Traditional Arts is of course still regarded as the poor relative, while the so-called ‘national institutions’ – e.g. Scottish Opera, which as we all know, is not even indigenous to Scotland – is obscenely over-funded. I understand that at the recent Cultural Debate at Holyrood scant reference was made to Scottish Traditional Arts - and in any case very few M.S.P.s even bothered to turn up for such an important debate. Shame on you!

I respectfully suggest the attitude of most elected M.S.P.s towards Scottish Traditional Arts, especially music and song, needs to change!

Yours faithfully,

‘Ian D. Green’