Progress of UK metrication
Although a great deal has happened in the UK over the past 30 years, there is still
a lot of ignorance of the current situation. Some people think it's already gone
too far, others don't seem to be aware of what has actually happened. One school
of thought is that SI (metric) is OK for some fields, e.g. scientific and engineering
endeavours (indeed, some people think SI was designed only for such purposes, rather
than general use), but it is not suitable for others. For example, as Britain is
an island, and the design of our road signs doesn't affect how we do trade with
the rest of the world, it is not necessary for road signs to convert to metric.
However, SI is a coherent system of units, and including non-metric units defeats
the point. We buy our petrol by the litre, so it's easier to calculate consumption
using kilometres; coaches and trucks have odometers recording kilometres, and speedometers
showing km/h (not kph, please!) in prominent form. The argument also ignores the
fact that the UK shares a border with Ireland, which has largely converted its distance
signs, and is planning to change its speed limit signs in the near future.
The logo above was was adopted in the UK in the '60s to indicate that a company
produced SI products. It can still be seen on British Ordnance Survey maps.
The Metrication Board was set up by the government in 1969 after the Confederation
of British Industry and the British Standards Institution announced that industry
was in favour of metrication. The MB's remit was to educate the public and business,
and encourage the adoption of SI. A target date of 1975 was set, by which time it
was anticipated that the UK would be substantially metric. More than a quarter of
a century after that target, we are still not there!
By 1975, a lot had been achieved, particularly in industry, but also in a lot of
everyday products. Unfortunately, the arrival of Margaret Thatcher's government
saw the end of any further persuasion on the part of the government. The Metrication
Board was killed off.
However, the government had already signed up to the European Directive 71/354 to
harmonize our units of measurement by requiring SI. This resulted in several further
Directives (UK and EU legislation) which set
out transition dates for phasing out most non-metric units. UK legislation was then
amended to enact these changes. 1995 saw the removal of the pound (weight) and pint
for labelling pre-packed goods.
Perhaps the most significant change took place at the end of 1999; as of 1 January
2000 it has no longer been legal to sell loose products (vegetables, fruit, cheese,
meat, nails, ground coffee, etc.) by reference to the ounce, pound, pint or gallon
(with the exception of draught beer). It is interesting to note that those who complain
about possible prison sentences for traders who don't use metric do not complain
that the same penalties currently exist for any publican who dares to sell beer
in litres - one particularly ludicrous anomaly (especially given that nearly all
pint bottles of beer on sale in supermarkets have been changed to 500 ml bottles).
This, in fact, did happen a few years ago, when a publican was fined for selling
beer in metric sizes; one wonders how much support that publican received from those
who proclaim themselves defenders of freedom to use any chosen units of measurement?
Pints of beer are usually spoken about in the same breath as the pint of milk in
returnable containers, but there is one significant difference, in that it is now
perfectly legal to sell milk in metric sizes.
Russ Rowlett's article on
English customary weights and measures offers a very useful history of pre-metric
units in Britain, while information specific to the UK is contained in
Historical perspectives by the last Director of the Metrication Board.