What do we mean by British Values?

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British values are what makes Britain different from other countries.  But what, exactly are British values?

Here is my list, in order of importance (most important first):

• Free Speech

• The overwhelming majority of people are honest, and don't want to live in a Police State [see note 1]

• Freedom to choose our own religion

• Tolerance of others

• All people are equal

• Protection of children against abuse

• The rule of Natural Law [see note 2]

• Respect for animal welfare

• Health services are free at the point of delivery

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Notes

[1] This is clearly NOT a British Value, given the raft of new regulations that come out every year.  But it should be.

[2] Natural Law means 'obvious' laws like forbidding murder and stealing.  Because we [mostly] agree with these, we don't need to carry guns.

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I've probably missed some out, and other people will probably put these values in a different order.  If you are thinking of commenting on this site, then what we mean by British Values is a good place to start.

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There are too many listed buildings

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I'm not a fan of listed buildings.  Making a building 'listed' does not preserve it - it merely makes the building

frozen in time, even to the extent of preventing repairs being made.

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Listed buildings cause a surprising number of restrictions on property development.  They can prevent redevelopment of a large area if there is a listed building in the middle of it, and can prevent draughty or inefficient windows being replaced by better ones.  If a building is in danger of falling down, listed status can prevent essential repairs being done.  Even when an owner is sympathetic to the need to preserve a building, listed status is more of a hindrance than a help.

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Some buildings are worth preserving for genuine historic reasons, and in these cases listed status spells out what is special and ensures that the history is preserved - fair enough, if

1. the owner is not a company or charity committed to preservation, and

2. there is a genuine historical point in preserving the particular building, and

3. the building can be visited by people who are interested in the history that is being preserved, and

4. the building can be preserved without modern repairs such as replacement windows.

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All the above are necessary for listed status to be worthwhile.  Item 1 should rule out buildings owned by preservation charities such as the National Trust.  What is the point of listed status to an owner that is committed to preservation?  Item 2 should rule out trivial listings such as 'an example of an early Georgian garden shed' or any building that does not represent anything unique.  Item 3 should rule out private buildings that no-one can ever visit and therefore benefit from the building that has been preserved, or indeed those buildings that most people will never know the existence of.  Item 4 will rule out preserving buildings in a run-down condition.

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Let's get rid of all the pointless listings that no-one cares about.  Then we can concentrate on buildings that actually mean something, so listed status actually protects our history in a meaningful way.

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