There are two schools of thought on this!
The first (and the one I subscribe to) is that it's a useful rating that allows you to fly when there is typical UK weather about. A few clouds in the way don't upset you. And if the wx turns nasty, you can do an ILS etc at your (Class D or lower airspace classification) home field. I think it's great!
The second view is that of quite a few "official" folks, that it's a "get you into trouble" rating that folks use to fly into weather they can't handle. This opinion usually goes with "CAA IMC Rating Examiners will sign off anyone, so the rating is meaningless." I think this is twaddle, but it was promulgated even by the "official" GASCo bulletin a year or so ago, so maybe I'm missing something.
What I'd REALLY like is a UK or JAA IR that wasn't based on vast amounts of theoretical learning to "keep the riffraff out". Something like the FAA IR, with similar renewal processes. But I can't see us getting that, I'm afraid.