UK Metric Association

The principles of the metric system were first proposed by Englishman, John Wilkins in 1668. Six SI units are named after British scientists: newton, joule, watt, farad, kelvin, gray. metricviews.uk/2007/07/16/m...

When the previous Government tried to bring back imperial in 2022, Sky News quizzed Lord Parkinson - it didn't go well. www.independent.co.uk/independentp...

I teach L2 Functional Skills Maths (GCSE equivalent but with a narrower, more useful in daily life curriculum) and have to teach imperial/metric conversions to 16 year olds. It makes me want to weep! I’m rapidly approaching retirement and went to primary school in the 70s. I was taught only metric.

50. Reintroducing imperial measurements: What problem does this actually solve? British industry, science and international trade operate predominantly in metric. Reintroducing imperial units more widely risks additional conversion costs, labelling complexity and unnecessary confusion. 🧵 3/5

There is a false nostalgia here. The Victorians weren't happy with the old system and tried without success to free us from the tedious calculations needed when using imperial measures and £sd. metricviews.uk/2025/07/15/p...

Support for the metric system in the UK is overwhelming - unsurprising because you would have to be a moron and/or over the age of 70 to think otherwise. My worry is for the 0.4% who think we should have only imperial measures. Hunt them down, & put them in a secure institution for monitoring.

In the EU, the UK had an "opt-out" to keep yards and miles on road signs. But in the 1960s, before joining the Common Market (as it was then), the British Government had originally planned to switch to metric signs as part of the UK's metrication programme.

Everyone under 50 (maybe unde 60?) was educated in metric and apart from road distance, pints of beer and height/weight of people, we use metric daily. There's a few things that have stuck in colloquial use (e.g. inches in dressmaking) but that's usually cos someone older taught you.

14 October 1969. Bank of England introduced the 50p coin to replace 10 Shilling (“Ten Bob”) note. It was part of the transition towards the full introduction of decimal currency in February 1971.

You’ve made me think that the continued use of the imperial system in the UK is an historical inaccuracy that bugs me more than anything fictional. I’m 49. i learned the metric system and only the metric system at school. And my ENTIRE ADULT LIFE I have had to live in a world of lbs, pints, miles…🤦‍♀️

UK knitting needles went metric 50 years ago. The old "UK" needle sizes are now only found in old knitting patterns. #metrication #metric #knitting metrication.uk/shopping/clo...

We're still waiting for the UK version of this 1970s public information film from Australia: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoEg...

Are you ready for D-Day? In 1971 Britain went decimal, and PIFs like these guided people through all the new-fangled coinage. A pox on halfpenny pieces, though!

Metrication: A case study in how Westminster creates long‑running policy messes, performs the rituals of action, avoids responsibility, and ultimately moves on without ever resolving the underlying problem. #metricsystem #metrication #metric Our latest blog article: metricviews.uk/2026/09/14/m...

"Thieves have stolen more than 800 barrels of Guinness ... The stolen barrels - which each would hold about 88 pints - had been destined for pubs" That'll be standard 50-litre kegs then. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The SMD Sizing Trap That Breaks PCB Layouts Have you ever fallen into the trap where there are SMT components that have the label 0402, but they can be different sizes if they are defined in the imperial or metric systems. Find out more In my video: youtu.be/dbuZxl6MiCQ

As far back as 1969, teachers were already concerned that pupils were being taught exclusively in metric but that road signs were still in imperial. Check out our latest blog article: metricviews.uk/2026/08/29/r...

Our latest blog article looks at correspondence, in the late 1960s, between county surveyors, borough engineers, police constabularies, education advisers and the Ministry of Transport concerning the forthcoming #metrication of road signs. metricviews.uk/2026/08/29/r...

We should've just got on with this decades ago, but "muh heritage" apparently.

Decided to do it. Persuaded much of the commonwealth to do likewise. Bottled actually seeing #Metrication through @ukma.org.uk

1980s/1990s-style #metrication ▶️ width ◀️ restriction signs, featuring separate roundels for 6'-6" and 2.0 m. Photographed in 2008, the signs have since been replaced with dual-unit signs. #metric @showmeasign.online metrication.uk/transport/ro...

In 1968, the Ministry of Technology published a comprehensive explanation of why the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 needed to adopt the #metric system and how the transition should unfold. Our latest blog article: metricviews.uk/2026/08/16/c... #metrication #metricsystem

#OTD 45 years ago, #metric restriction signs 🚗 were introduced on 🇬🇧 UK roads. From 13 August 1981, metric units 📏 could be used for the first time, alongside imperial units, to indicate height, width and length restrictions on 🇬🇧 UK road signs. Weight restriction signs went metric on the same day.

Deeply embarrassing that I'm solidly middle-aged and this report came out 10 years before I was born. Genuinely think that flubbing metrication was one of the things that set the UK on the reactionary path it subsequently went down metricviews.uk/2026/08/04/c...

The object will remain 4000kg mass while it's weight will change due to the difference in gravity. That tidbit ought to spin most of the population who don't remember metric vs imperial is not just a conversion - they hid the Newton (N) in the pound. 39.2kN vs 6.4kN (8,818lb vs 1,440lb).

I am amused by people who complain that media outlets use "hectares" rather than "acres" when describing area (as in recent wildfire 🔥 reporting). Seriously? Like you know what an acre* is (and don't give me the 'football pitches' comparison, because that's bollocks, too)? 1/2

Dear BBC et al. Please stop using football pitches as a measure of fire sizes! What is wrong with acres or hectares?

BBC: "He said the plants need around 549,92 gallons (250,000 litres) of water a week" Come on BBC! Are we expected to believe that anyone said, "around 54992 gallons" - Just stick with the #metric units that people use. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

BBC 🤦

BBC: "This morning, the fire service told the BBC that about 24.7 acres (10 hectares) was on fire." BBC: "Suffolk County Council says the fire now covers 247.1 acres (100 hectares)." It seems unlikely that the Council and fire service are using acres. #BBC #metric www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/ce...

The Use of SI Units – Why a 60‑year‑old BSI publication still matters for Britain’s future #metricsystem #metrication metricviews.uk/2026/07/27/t...

#OTD in 1866, the United States Congress passed the Metric Act of 1866 (Kasson Act), making the use of the metric system legal in contracts, charges, and court proceedings across the country.

When he did his calculation, he used the density figure for jet fuel in pounds/litres from the refueler slip from Air Canada not the kilograms/litres used for the all-metric 767 aircraft. No fuel was loaded into the aircraft in Ottawa. 📸 Air Canada 🧵8/20

Commonwealth Games to replace the 1500 m by a mile race #metrication #metricmile #metricsystem metricviews.uk/2026/07/21/c...

The Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) used the metric system for its calculations during the computer-controlled phases of Apollo 11's descent to the surface of the Moon. ukma.org.uk/why-metric/m...

Here's another article, where the orig. source likely used hectares, but the BBC preferred over-precise acre conversions and "football pitches": "a 296-acre (120-hectare) plot" "988,421-acre (400,000 hectares) wetlands" Reserve restores '168 football pitches' of land www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...