When one of the people who is put forward to be honoured with a street name says he thinks 'problematic' old names should stay, it might look like a winning goal for the status quo.

To recap, Luther Blissett was one of three Watford people - Anthony Joshua and John Barnes were the others - suggested by Cllr Asif Khan as people who might have roads named after them in new developments in the town.

Cllr Khan had successfully put forward a motion calling for roads "named after people who were involved in the slave trade, colonisation and oppression" to be renamed.

He had in mind street names such as Imperial Way, Colonial Way, Rhodes Way and Clive Way.

These names might seem anachronistic and even offensive to some, but to others are a part of the nation's past and should not be altered.

Blissett's point - that renaming the roads is "wallpapering over the past" - is a good one.

But he went on to say there should be a real understanding of where those names have come from.

He told the BBC: "The important thing is what we now, in this present time, can do about education so that people understand [their] past and understand hopefully what we can do moving forward."

But being a Hornets legend does not give you the casting vote - although Blissett is right about the need to educate people.

We can be proud of being British but at the same time be aware that in the past Britons and Britain did things we now find shameful. And we do not diminish ourselves or Britain by acknowledging when our country fell short.

We should be able to discuss which changes we might make, and all sides need to be prepared to listen to and learn from each other. We lose nothing by being better educated and more aware of our own history. We all gain if the debate is public and good humoured.

In the end, we might change one street name, several or none. The goal here is not to beat the other side into submission, it is to learn to live with our past and opposing points of view.