Yet another victory for the British over Continental Europeans who try to rule us....
Brussels backs down over plans to outlaw pounds and ounces
By IAN DRURY
9th May 2007
Daily Mail
EU says it will allow Britain to keep using Imperial measurements, as it will damage trade to the US, which uses Imperial measurements
Britain is to keep its pounds and ounces.
Campaigners are celebrating after the European Commission abandoned its hugely unpopular plan to scrap the historic Imperial measures.
Brussels bureaucrats admitted that forcing traders to use only metric grams and kilos would not be 'good for business'.
The present dual labelling system, displaying both sets of measures, will now carry on indefinitely.
Neil Herron, director of the Metric Martyrs pressure group, hailed a 'monumental victory'.
Steve Thoburn, who died three years ago after losing anti-Metric campaign against Brussels
He dedicated the triumph to the memory of his friend Steven Thoburn, the Sunderland green-grocer who died at 39 as he fought his conviction for selling bananas by the pound.
Mr Herron said: "People power has forced the Commission and the Government to abandon the enforced metrication programme.
"We have saved the pint, the mile, the yard, the foot and now we have saved pounds and ounces. We have stood toe to toe with the Government and the EU and won - and shown others that you can stop the tide of EU legislation."
Under Brussels plans dating back to the 1990s, it would have become illegal for UK shops to display the Imperial measurements after January 1, 2010, with traders facing fines of up to £2,000.
But Industry Commissioner Gunther Verheugan performed a spectacular U-turn when he spoke to a committee of MEPs on Tuesday.
He said research had shown that the intended ban would damage trade with the US, which uses Imperial measurements for many goods.
A Commission spokesman admitted later that Mr Verheugan had backtracked after consultations with traders showed overwhelming support for dual labelling.
Mr Verheugan is expected to recommend next week that the EC rejects the proposals for metric-only measures, lifting any potential threat to feet and inches as well.
Tory spokesman Giles Chichester said: "I am happy the Commission has been persuaded that it is good not only for international business but for the British people that traditional measurements are kept. I just hope that the Government will avoid forcing metrication down the public's throat."
David Delaney, of the British Weights and Measures Association, said he was "overjoyed".
He added: "We have campaigned for 25 years to ensure choice in measures and faced many defeats. Now we are within touching distance of a final victory."
A survey by the association last November showed eight out of ten people opposed metric-only measurements.
A Department for Trade and Industry spokesman said: "The EC held a public consultation on dual labelling and we responded that we wanted to keep it. We are now waiting for a formal ruling."
But Mr Herron called the Government's reaction 'hypocritical'. He said the DTI had slipped plans to outlaw pounds and ounces completely on to the Statute Book in 2001.
Mr Thoburn, the original Metric Martyr, was convicted by magistrates in Sunderland in 2001 of using scales that could not weigh in metric units, which had become illegal the previous year.
He was given a six-month conditional discharge, but died of a heart attack three years later after the European Court of Human Rights rejected his final appeal against his conviction.
Mr Herron said he planned to campaign for a Royal Pardon for his friend.
He said: "He should never have been prosecuted and all the authorities knew it should never have happened. The name of Steve Thoburn will be chiselled into the pages of the history books."
Ian Hartley, Mr Thoburn's father-in-law, said: "He would have been so proud to see this result after years of campaigning".
Only four shopkeepers were ever prosecuted for using pounds and ounces - an offence which carried fines of up to £5,000 - as the Metric Martyrs campaign won support from millions.
At least 15 consumer surveys between 1995 and 2000 found the British people overwhelmingly rejecting metrification.
Under existing European rules, which will now not be changed, shops must use metric units as the main measurement of weight, but can display the equivalent in pounds and ounces as well.
dailymail.co.uk
Brussels backs down over plans to outlaw pounds and ounces
By IAN DRURY
9th May 2007
Daily Mail
EU says it will allow Britain to keep using Imperial measurements, as it will damage trade to the US, which uses Imperial measurements
Britain is to keep its pounds and ounces.
Campaigners are celebrating after the European Commission abandoned its hugely unpopular plan to scrap the historic Imperial measures.
Brussels bureaucrats admitted that forcing traders to use only metric grams and kilos would not be 'good for business'.
The present dual labelling system, displaying both sets of measures, will now carry on indefinitely.
Neil Herron, director of the Metric Martyrs pressure group, hailed a 'monumental victory'.
Steve Thoburn, who died three years ago after losing anti-Metric campaign against Brussels
He dedicated the triumph to the memory of his friend Steven Thoburn, the Sunderland green-grocer who died at 39 as he fought his conviction for selling bananas by the pound.
Mr Herron said: "People power has forced the Commission and the Government to abandon the enforced metrication programme.
"We have saved the pint, the mile, the yard, the foot and now we have saved pounds and ounces. We have stood toe to toe with the Government and the EU and won - and shown others that you can stop the tide of EU legislation."
Under Brussels plans dating back to the 1990s, it would have become illegal for UK shops to display the Imperial measurements after January 1, 2010, with traders facing fines of up to £2,000.
But Industry Commissioner Gunther Verheugan performed a spectacular U-turn when he spoke to a committee of MEPs on Tuesday.
He said research had shown that the intended ban would damage trade with the US, which uses Imperial measurements for many goods.
A Commission spokesman admitted later that Mr Verheugan had backtracked after consultations with traders showed overwhelming support for dual labelling.
Mr Verheugan is expected to recommend next week that the EC rejects the proposals for metric-only measures, lifting any potential threat to feet and inches as well.
Tory spokesman Giles Chichester said: "I am happy the Commission has been persuaded that it is good not only for international business but for the British people that traditional measurements are kept. I just hope that the Government will avoid forcing metrication down the public's throat."
David Delaney, of the British Weights and Measures Association, said he was "overjoyed".
He added: "We have campaigned for 25 years to ensure choice in measures and faced many defeats. Now we are within touching distance of a final victory."
A survey by the association last November showed eight out of ten people opposed metric-only measurements.
A Department for Trade and Industry spokesman said: "The EC held a public consultation on dual labelling and we responded that we wanted to keep it. We are now waiting for a formal ruling."
But Mr Herron called the Government's reaction 'hypocritical'. He said the DTI had slipped plans to outlaw pounds and ounces completely on to the Statute Book in 2001.
Mr Thoburn, the original Metric Martyr, was convicted by magistrates in Sunderland in 2001 of using scales that could not weigh in metric units, which had become illegal the previous year.
He was given a six-month conditional discharge, but died of a heart attack three years later after the European Court of Human Rights rejected his final appeal against his conviction.
Mr Herron said he planned to campaign for a Royal Pardon for his friend.
He said: "He should never have been prosecuted and all the authorities knew it should never have happened. The name of Steve Thoburn will be chiselled into the pages of the history books."
Ian Hartley, Mr Thoburn's father-in-law, said: "He would have been so proud to see this result after years of campaigning".
Only four shopkeepers were ever prosecuted for using pounds and ounces - an offence which carried fines of up to £5,000 - as the Metric Martyrs campaign won support from millions.
At least 15 consumer surveys between 1995 and 2000 found the British people overwhelmingly rejecting metrification.
Under existing European rules, which will now not be changed, shops must use metric units as the main measurement of weight, but can display the equivalent in pounds and ounces as well.
dailymail.co.uk
