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”Tag: metrication
Queen’s Jubilee celebrations to include return of imperial units?
Over the weekend, various news items announced (again) that it was the Government’s intention for us to return to the use of imperial units.
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A paradox of our measurement muddle
Should the UK have one measurement system or two? We highlight a paradox in UK government policy.
Continue reading “A paradox of our measurement muddle”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.
Continue reading “The 1972 White Paper on Metrication – 50 years on”
1980s – a turning point
Ronnie Cohen remembers how the loss of consensus on both the reform of the UK’s measurement units and on its membership of the European Community changed the course of history.
Continue reading “1980s – a turning point”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”.
Continue reading “Found in a loft”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.
Continue reading “Retrograde step proposed for retail trade”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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Metric Views 