It was under Blair that the current curriculum was formed - arguably the most pro-EU and pro-metric government we've had since Heath in the early 70's
But was reintroducing imperial measure in schools something that Blair and his government pushed through ? More likely it was something they conceded to anti-metric lobbyists. After all, if you had a reputation for the "most pro-EU government since Heath" -- something of a liability among many British voters -- would you really want to give the other side a Blair-wants-to-bury-our-fine-British-measures-in-favor-of-that-French-stuff stick with which to beat you ?
It's really not perceived as a "mess of units" by the ordinary punter in the street.
Here I agree with you - just as when your country and mine had a currency with 1/4, 1/2 and 1 penny, with 12 pennies to a shilling and 20 shillings to a pound, we never considered it a total mess either (and don't even start me on coins delimited in 2.5 shillings) even though with the benefit of hindsight, it undoubtedly was.
My point was that if the US wants to move towards a situation where both sets of units are mixed about as in the UK, then follow your lead and teach both in schools. If they prefer to move (albeit slowly) to a metric only environment, then the first necessary step is only to teach metric in schools as we did. Whether it's considered a mess is unimportant - the issue is which way is the best to get to where you want to be.
