You certainly have changed your tune!
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Main Recommendations
Britain's Way Ahead: Our 12-point plan
These are our proposals, which we invite the next government to adopt:
1. Loose Goods - Ending of Criminal Penalties
We call for an immediate suspension of all action to enforce
the compulsory weighing and sale of loose goods in metric
2. Repeal of 1994 Regulations
We call for the repeal of the 1994 Units of Measurement Regulations. We
also call for an indefinite 'derogation' from any other measure in
Directive EC/80/181 under which Britain is required to convert to metric
units
3. Dual labelling of packaged goods and the re-introduction of 'dual
customary/metric weighing machines
Dual labelling of the weight of packaged goods sold in shops should be
introduced within a reasonable lead-in period (goods for export would
still, of course, need to comply with the importing country's
require-ments). After a transitional period, displaying metric could be
phased out. The cost of adding another measurement on a packet or tin is
minimal. Packaged goods in the United States are dual labelled
4. Repeal of the ban on displaying the word 'pound' in shops after 2009
We call for the immediate repeal Regulations banning the display of
information in pounds and ounces in shops after 31 December 2009
5. Changes in the National Curriculum
We call for the National Curriculum to be amended to ensure that children
are taught customary and metric units in equal measure (as is the case in
the United States) and are not forced to use only metric in class, e.g.
when preparing recipes, making things or drawing up plans
6. Relaxing the ban on customary measures for officials
We call for the immediate relaxation of laws requiring officials to use
metric only in official documents
7. Relaxing the ban on customary measures for architects and builders
We call for architects to be allowed, once again, to draw up plans in
customary units, and for builders to be able to use customary units
8. Changes to the Highway Code
We call for the next edition of the Highway Code to omit all references to
metric measurements, in order to avoid confusion
9. Public information signs to be primarily in customary units
We call for all public information signs, e.g. at the entrance to
publicly-owned country parks or historical buildings, to use customary
units
10. All swimming pools to show depths in feet and inches
We call for all present and future swimming pools, in the interests of
safety, to be required to display depths in customary units. We do not call
for an end to displaying depths in metric units. Both should be used
11. Leave road signs in customary measures
We seek a commitment by the government to leave road and footpath signs in
customary units indefinitely. Staff in the Department for Transport,
currently planning metrication, could be redeployed to useful work
12. Phase out optional metric signs on British roads
We call for the repeal of the current option (currently used only by a
handful of local authorities) to allow metric roads signs, in very limited
circumstances, to accompany signs in customary units.
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