The head of the supermarket giant ASDA has launched a furious attack on government plans to change all stores. He says the change is more likely to adversely affect people under the age of 40 and described it as “backwards”.
To mark the Queen’s platinum jubilee, the government has launched a inquiry into whether British stores can re-use imperial weights and measures such as pounds and ounces.
The government is unlikely to completely abandon metric units, but it could allow stores to replace them in some areas with imperial measures. These plans would also return the Crown symbol to the comb glasses, replacing the “CE” marking on the glasses used throughout the European Union.
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Downing Street can be expected to bolster support among key Brexiteer voters on battlefield seats that Conservatives are in danger of losing. But ASDA President Lord Rose of Monewden said the change would only please “a small minority who listen to the past”.
The idea has already been criticized by later Conservative banks, with Rutland and Melton MP Alicia Kearns calling it “nonsense”. Lord Rose said it meant going “backwards” and predicted it would be costly for those to put him in his place.
When asked if he welcomed the return to the use of imperial measures, he told Times Radio: ” “My life. I mean, we have serious problems in the world, and now we say we’re going backwards. Does anyone in this country under the age of 40 know how many ounces there are in a pound?”
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“Let’s go down to the grocery store and say,‘ Will I take a pound and a half please, or a pound, four ounces of this or that? Do we do it just to please a little one? minority of people who listen to the past. It is utter nonsense and will come at a cost to those who have to start it. “
The EU Weights and Measures Directive came into force in 2000, with the legal obligation for traders to use metric units for the sale by weight or measurement of fresh produce. It is still legal to set the price of products in pounds and ounces, but they should be shown next to the price in grams and kilograms.
The consultation, which is coordinated by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, could change these rules and allow traders to choose how they price fresh produce. Lewis said it would allow fruit traders and bar owners to run their businesses as they see fit after the UK leaves the European Union.
What are imperial measures?
This is a way of measuring the weight, distances and measurements used in the UK before the metric system began to be adopted in 1965. For example, fruit and vegetables used to be sold in pounds and ounces. .
Sixteen ounces is a pound, about 453 grams. There are 14 pounds for a stone.
However, the adoption of the metric by Britain was rather in the middle and most of us use a mixture of metric and imperial. Most Britons still use imperial miles instead of miles, and are familiar with the use of feet and inches to mark short distances. We also tend to measure body weight in stones, not kilograms.
And of course, ordering half a liter of beer at a pub is likely to make you look puzzled at the bartender. This is because the drink is still sold in imperial combs, which are 568 ml in the metric system. Confusingly, other alcoholic beverages, such as wine and liquor, are sold by the milliliter, a metric measure.
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