Scottish Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson, Christine Jardine (born 1960) admitted “I have no idea what imperial weights and measures are… anyone?”
Just ask one of the 330 million Americans, one of the countries that uses imperial measurements, and of course many British people that use it daily.
But the Scottish Treasury Spokesperson has no idea?? Was it really her that said it?
In everyday conversation, many British people freely use feet, stones, acres and miles per gallon.
Many British people still do their height in feet and inches.
Distance signs and speed limits are in miles, yards and miles per hour, whilst feet and inches predominate in height and width restrictions.
Many market traders and some small shopkeepers display weights in pounds and ounces – sometimes (in defiance of the law) without their metric equivalent.
Metric labelling on packages was only enforced in 1995 and metric weighing at the point of sale in 2000.
This conversation is all in response to the UK now officially permitting those who want to use the imperial system of weights and measurements to do so.
Note: It is making it legal to use the British measurement system again, but it is not compulsory.
2011 BBC article: Will British people ever think in metric?
UK Metric Association: In everyday conversation, many British people freely use feet, stones, acres and miles per gallon.
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