Author: UK Metric Association

Campaigning for a single, rational system of measurement

The Commonwealth Games mile races

In July 2026, John Austin reported that the 1500 m races have all been replaced by 1 mile at the Commonwealth Games. This is his follow-up article on the mile races at the Commonwealth Games.

As I noted in Metric Views in July [1], the 1500 m races for men and women were replaced by mile races in the athletics programme of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games (CG), 27 July to 1 August. The original article stimulated some debate, and I was able to respond with my own views at the time. The discussion was more broadly-based than the mile races themselves extending into other events of the athletics programme where imperial units were present. Here I offer further comment which I hope addresses people’s concerns.

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Commonwealth Games to replace the 1500 m by a mile race

John Austin reports on the athletics programme for the 2026 Commonwealth Games, which will commence in Glasgow, Scotland on 27 July. National and International Athletics is almost entirely metric. The only imperial measurements in general use are “beneath the surface”: some shot weights are in whole numbers of pounds and hurdle and steeplechase heights are in imperial. Even the marathon is not an official distance in miles but is rather 42 195 m. So it may come as a surprise to most people to find that the 1500 m races have all been replaced by 1 mile [1].

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Metric speed limits – 55 years of dilly-dallying

55 years ago today, the Government announced that,

“Speed limits on Britain’s roads are not to be metricated in 1973, as had been planned by the previous administration, and the Government has no alternative date in mind.”

 
In the 55 years since that announcement, successive governments have failed to set a new date for the changeover to metric speed limits. We reproduce here an extract from UKMA’s main website:

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UKMA’s response to the REUL Bill Select Committee

Yesterday, in the House of Lords, the Delegated Powers & Regulatory Reform Committee published its report on the Government’s Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill.

The Bill, which is due to have its second reading in the House of Lords on Monday 6 February, is designed to hand power from Parliament to Government Ministers, who will then decide the fate of up to 4000 laws.

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Government’s return to imperial set to make UK a laughing stock

Yesterday, the Government published its response to the so-called TIGRR report. It was reported in some newspapers as announcing the return of pounds and ounces.

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New role for Britain’s road signs

An analysis by the Government of UK economic prospects post-Covid has identified the importance for our economic recovery of services generally and tourism in particular. Meanwhile a separate study by tourism bodies has looked into attracting foreign tourists.

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