ROBERT STURDY DELIGHTED THAT IMPERIAL MEASUREMENTS CAN STAY IN UK
Sept 12th 2007
The European Commission’s decision that the UK can continue using imperial measurements such as pints, pounds and miles is a victory for Britishness, said Euro-MP Robert Sturdy.
There were fears that British weights and measures would disappear from labels and shop displays by 2009. But the EU's Industry Commissioner Gunter Verheugens confirmed that there is not now, and never will be any requirement to drop imperial measurements.
Mr Sturdy welcomed the ruling and said:
“This is yet another example of the European Commission's unnecessary interference into Member States' long held traditions and practices. Had they not allowed this, UK traders could have faced fines of up to £2000 for even displaying imperial measurements.
“The Commission was keen to end what it called a bitter battle which has been going on for several years. However, I was not impressed by the Industry Commissioner’s statement that this issue was, in his opinion, 'completely pointless'. This issue is far from pointless. It epitomises the lack of respect the Commission has for national identity that is all too often subjected to the interference of the European Union.
“I cannot imagine the financial and administrative burden that could have been imposed on the UK should we have be forced to convert to the metric system by the 2010 deadline.
“However we have been warned that statements coming out of the Commission could be misleading. Traders are still prohibited from using imperial measurements alone, they must only be used as additional information to the metric measurements.
“The Commission is adopting a 'phase-in' approach that will inevitably lead of an all-metric system. This is not acceptable and I fully support the efforts of my conservative colleagues and the British Weights and Measure Association in continuing their campaign.”
