the government renounces the return of the imperial unit of measurement system

Gallons and pounds will not replace liters and kilos. However, it was a promise linked to Brexit and this decision taken on the sly, during this holiday season, has not gone unnoticed.

It was a very concrete promise that touched daily life. Supporters of leaving the European Union promised: the United Kingdom would regain its sovereignty, particularly in the way of measuring, weighing or quantifying goods. Gone is the hegemony of litres, kilos and the metric system, imposed by the European Union. Brexit was to mark a return to the United Kingdom’s old imperial measurements: the ounce, the gallon, the pint and the pound. It was a promise from Boris Johnson, the former Prime Minister, defender of Brexit. These measures, previously adopted in 1825, recall the past greatness of the empire.

Except that discreetly, in the midst of the confectioners’ truce, the British government announced on Wednesday December 27 that it was giving up. On food or drink packaging, it is ultimately the European measurements – liters and kilograms – which will persist. The most ardent supporters of Brexit feel betrayed. Like Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former Minister of Commerce who regrets this decision. For him, it proves “that the British government is a government of bureaucrats, by bureaucrats and for bureaucrats”.

So to alleviate the anger, the leaders accepted two concessions. First, English measurements can be written on products, but provided they are less visible than the European measurement. And then the government authorizes the marketing of pints of wine, which corresponds to two thirds of a classic bottle. The pint, the favorite volume of Winston Churchill, who judged that a one-liter bottle during a meal was too much, and that half a bottle was not enough.

99% of British people against this change

The government’s arguments to justify this abandonment of British imperial measures are first and foremost economic. The return to the imperial system of gallons, pounds and ounces hampers the export of British products. It would be too complicated to have your own unit of measurement compared to the rest of the world or almost. The government also explains that this would create confusion among consumers and additional costs for businesses. But above all, the British authorities have launched a public consultation. It turns out that 99% of citizens surveyed are in favor of maintaining the European metric system.

One more promise scrapped by the Brexiters. During the referendum in 2016, they promised that leaving the European Union would stop illegal immigration and revive British growth. In these two areas, however, the opposite happened.