The Government’s imperial measurement proposals seem to be part of their Operation Red Meat proposals to get Conservative MPs and supporters back on side. They were initially used to try to save former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and then used by the final two candidates in the Conservative leadership contest, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, to gain support from Conservative Party members to win the Conservative leadership contest and become the next Prime Minister.
Continue reading “Imperial Red Meat policy won’t save the Conservatives”Which? exposes poor grasp of unit pricing
The Which? consumer group published its most recent investigation about unit pricing on 23 August 2022, asking “Can you spot the cheapest supermarket prices?”. If you cannot do this, you could be missing out on huge savings. The ability to use unit pricing to get the best deals is a critical skill in the cost-of-living crisis.
Continue reading “Which? exposes poor grasp of unit pricing”No DfT research on familiarity of road sign units
A Freedom of Information response from the Department for Transport reveals that it has done no research on the general public’s familiarity of road sign units. The DfT once used the lack of metric education as an argument against the metrication of road signs but has never seen the lack of familiarity with imperial units as a problem with its current use of imperial road signs.
Continue reading “No DfT research on familiarity of road sign units”Metric popularity rises with youth
On 3-4 February 2022, YouGov did a survey about Britons’ preferences for using imperial and metric units for different purposes. It showed that the younger the age group, the stronger the preference for metric units.
Continue reading “Metric popularity rises with youth”Blight on marine life education
Following on from the story of the Rock Reef flyer last week, we look at the chaotic use of mixed measurements at an educational attraction, in stark contrast to the metric education that youngsters get in school.
Continue reading “Blight on marine life education”Rock Reef activities flyer muddle
Rock Reef activities on Bournemouth pier is aimed at thrill-seekers. They publish a flyer aimed predominantly at a young market. Their flyer mixes metric and imperial units in many places and even does this in the same sentence.
Continue reading “Rock Reef activities flyer muddle”Household items and litre measurements
Here is a simple method to find the litre capacity of household items you want to replace when you have lost all sources of information about their capacity. This method demonstrates a clear and simple relationship between centimetres and litres.
Continue reading “Household items and litre measurements”Imperial return is part of Brexit symbolism
The return of imperial units is part of a wider range of symbolic changes that are coming as a result of Brexit.
Continue reading “Imperial return is part of Brexit symbolism”How to respond to imperial-only measurement proposals
The Government has published its “Choice on units of measurement: markings and sales” consultation document about their plans to remove the requirement for traders to show the metric equivalent alongside imperial units.
Continue reading “How to respond to imperial-only measurement proposals”Taking us back to the 1970’s
There are a number of similar phenomena between our post-COVID times and the 1970’s. One of them is the Government proposing to allow traders to sell using imperial-only again, forcing customers to once again have to resort to conversion calculations to compare prices.
Continue reading “Taking us back to the 1970’s”
Metric Views 