Contrary to what was announced after Brexit, Great Britain does not want to turn away from units of measurement such as liters and kilograms. There is still good news for advocates of traditional units of measurement.
The British government is foregoing the major move away from the metric system announced after Brexit. This was announced by the Ministry of Trade in London. Previously, in a government survey, 98.7 percent of the more than 100,000 respondents said they were satisfied with the use of the metric system – with units such as grams, liters and meters – when purchasing or selling.
In British trade it is currently only permitted to use traditional measures such as pounds and pints if the metric measures are mentioned. The British government had considered changing this law. The then British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had announced that after Britain’s exit from the EU, he would usher in a “new era of generosity and tolerance” towards the traditional British units of measurement. Brexit supporters had hailed the plan as an “end to metric martyrdom”.
Units of measurement also common in other countries
The British Ministry of Commerce has now announced that after evaluating all the survey results and all arguments, the government has “currently decided against any changes to the law”. However, Great Britain has a “long and proud” history of using “imperial measures”, as the traditional measures are called in Great Britain.
The Ministry of Commerce said the move was possible thanks to the “new freedoms” that would come with leaving the European Union. In addition to Great Britain, traditional British units of measurement are also used in the USA, Myanmar and Liberia.
A pint of wine – even in the supermarket
The ministry nevertheless announced good news for advocates of traditional units of measurement – and of Brexit: from now on it will be permitted in British supermarkets, pubs and restaurants to sell wine or sparkling wine in the unit of measurement pint, which corresponds to 568 milliliters. This was already the case before leaving the EU. In the future, British consumers will be able to follow the example of their legendary Prime Minister Winston Churchill – who is said to have enjoyed a pint of champagne.
