- Reaction score
- 34
- Points
- 560
"victory for common sense"
Amid the economic gloom, UK drinkers have found a measure of good news - the pint will not have to be renamed.
Decades of wrangling with the EU over switching to metric measures has ended with a vote confirming that imperial measures
can carry on indefinitely. The European Commission acknowledged last year that persuading the UK to embrace litres and
kilometres over pints and miles was a lost cause. Minister for Europe Caroline Flint said it was a "victory for common sense".
The vote means a 2009 deadline to end the use of imperial measurements alongside metric units has been scrapped. Innovation,
Universities and Skills Secretary John Denham, who is responsible for national weights and measures, was delighted. He said
after the European Parliament vote: "People in Britain like their pint and their mile. They should be able to use the measures
they are most familiar with, and now they can be sure that they will continue to do so.
"We made strong arguments for the UK's right to carry on using pints and miles and maintaining dual metric and imperial labelling.
"I know how important this is to the British people and businesses and am grateful for the Commission's support."
Rest of article on link
Amid the economic gloom, UK drinkers have found a measure of good news - the pint will not have to be renamed.
Decades of wrangling with the EU over switching to metric measures has ended with a vote confirming that imperial measures
can carry on indefinitely. The European Commission acknowledged last year that persuading the UK to embrace litres and
kilometres over pints and miles was a lost cause. Minister for Europe Caroline Flint said it was a "victory for common sense".
The vote means a 2009 deadline to end the use of imperial measurements alongside metric units has been scrapped. Innovation,
Universities and Skills Secretary John Denham, who is responsible for national weights and measures, was delighted. He said
after the European Parliament vote: "People in Britain like their pint and their mile. They should be able to use the measures
they are most familiar with, and now they can be sure that they will continue to do so.
"We made strong arguments for the UK's right to carry on using pints and miles and maintaining dual metric and imperial labelling.
"I know how important this is to the British people and businesses and am grateful for the Commission's support."
Rest of article on link
