Tag: metrication

The 1972 White Paper on Metrication – 50 years on

2022 sees the 50th anniversary of the 1972 White Paper on Metrication – a policy document that set out the Government’s plans for the nation’s metrication programme in the 1970s.

The publication of the White Paper was approved at a Cabinet meeting held on Tuesday 11 January 1972.

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Found in a loft

A recent visitor to UKMA’s web site has made contact with us explaining that, when clearing out a loft, she had discovered what appeared to be proposals for a “Think metric” campaign aimed at the general public. She says, “It would be interesting to know if they were used or not and where”.

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Retrograde step proposed for retail trade

On 16 June 2021, the government published a set of proposals from the independent “Taskforce on Innovation, Growth and Regulatory Reform” (TIGRR). These proposals aim to reduce regulation of British businesses, thereby providing them with an advantage over foreign competitors.

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The UK’s metric conversion – a comedy of errors?

Ronnie Cohen looks at the story of the UK’s metric changeover during the half century following the establishment of the Metrication Board in the late 1960s. If any other country needs a lesson in how not to do the job, this is it.

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Decimal changeover lessons

Following on from last week’s informative article about the UK’s introduction of decimal currency, we look at some of the features contributing to that success and draw comparisons with the changeover to metric measures.

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