Metrication is not because of EU membership

Even though this topic has been done a lot already it is worth re-iterating. Many people in the UK believe that metrication in the UK is a result of UK membership of the European Union (EU), and believe this often repeated lie unquestioningly. The truth is that the UK began its metrication programme in 1965, long before the UK joined the predecessor of the EU, the European Economic Community (EEC), in 1973.  Furthermore, the EU itself was not even created until 1992.

Compulsory metrication within 2 years was recommended as long ago as 1895, as well as teaching only metric at primary school. And Britain was very close to being fully metric in 1907, when a compulsory metrication bill was passed in the House of Lords, but was narrowly defeated in the House of Commons by just 150 votes to 118. This was all a long time before the EEC was even thought about, never mind existed.

Then in 1951, a metric changeover plan was recommended by the Board of Trade, the predecessor of the Department for Trade and Industry, this was rejected by the government as a "premature" change. Again, this was nothing to do with the EU, neither the EU nor its predecessor the EEC existed at this time either.

It was not until 1965, following pressure from the Federation of British industry (now the CBI) who was concerned about losing out to metric competitors, that the Board of Trade announced that the UK would go metric, with a target completion date of 1975. It was also planned that road signs would go metric by 1973 (which later got postponed in 1970). In 1969, the Metrication Board was set up to oversee the changeover, and set up by Tony Benn and Douglas Jay, two Eurosceptics. Metrication was not started just to join the EEC.

Indeed, during this period, UK's EEC membership application was vetoed twice in 1963 and 1967 so the UK had little chance of joining the EEC during the 1960s. When the UK finally did join the EEC in 1973, the then (Conservative) government simply confirmed the existing UK government policy to adopt SI units. In the 1960s and 1970s, when metrication was not politicised in the UK, SI units were widely regarded as better.

Even if the UK never joined the EEC/EU, the fact is that the UK already started to go metric before it joined. It is not necessary to be pro-EU to support metrication, indeed it is possible to support metrication but be Eurosceptic. The entire Commonwealth uses metric too and so does most of the rest of the world, nothing to do with the EU. Indeed 95% of the world uses SI units. Inside or outside the EU or Commonwealth, the UK should finish its metrication soon, because SI is better than the imperial collection of units.

Resources

• British metrication timeline
• Myths about metrication
• The working man's pint - An investigation of the implementation of the metric system in Britain (1851-1979), by Frederik Hyttel