I don’t go in for new year’s resolutions. I’ve always thought the greater challenge, and reward, is simply to be resolute in oneself; not for any particular year or endeavour, but as a way of living and engaging with life. My view has not changed. But given the real and present dangers that 2016 made clear to us, the challenges not only of the age but of my own advancing years, the insults and assaults to which so many are increasingly subject, the victories of parochialism and the triumph of mediocrity, I think it’s time to reiterate some of the principles  by which we hold to our own truth and become our better selves. They are not British or Jamaican or American values; they are not wedded to politics or geography or religion or language or nation; they are not better suited to the young or the old or the rich or the poor. They are human values and I commit to upholding them, this year and every year.

Kindness

Courage

Creativity

Optimism

Fortitude

Clarity

Rigour

Compassion

Inclusion

Empathy

Communication

Perspective