PRIME MINISTER Boris Johnson is planning to announce the return of imperial measurements to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
He is expected to say that British shops will be allowed to sell product in pounds and ounces, in what is a move being widely viewed as an attempt to garner support from Brexit voters in areas where conservative seats are in danger of being lost.
Government insiders told the Mirror that ministers are making the announcement on Friday to coincide with celebrations for the monarch's 70 years on the throne.
Since 2000, the UK has been abiding by the EU weights and measures directive which required traders to legally use the metric units for the sale by weight or measures of fresh produce.
However, it is still legal to price goods in funds and ounces, but they have to be displayed alongside the price in grams and kilograms.
The change would largely be a symbolic one, and has garnered criticism online as a deflection from more serious issues facing the country.
Out of all the problems in the UK that desperately need to be solved, imagine putting "bring back imperial measurements" at the top of your list, ahead of say homelessness or child hunger. No wonder the country is fucked.
— Support the RMT (@RickyDHale) May 29, 2022
We'll be "allowed" products in imperial measurements.
Overseas manufacturers won't: adds costs needlessly.
UK exporters won't: limits markets, especially as many US imperial standards differ from ours.
Anyone wanting to sell to people under 50 won't use it: it's confusing pic.twitter.com/IaC7rU9uOH— Russ Jones (@RussInCheshire) May 29, 2022
Imagine living in a country where the government thinks the two main vote winning policies are going backwards by decades to a system of measurements that barely no one else uses and then deporting people to Rwanda. This is England in 2022. #Imperial #JohnsonOutNow #GTTO #deadcat
— Sarah (@kokeshimum) May 30, 2022
Few countries still use the imperial measurement system in 2022. The USA, Myanmar and Liberia are the only three that use it on a daily basis.
The imperial system is a measurement which uses units such as inches, miles and ounces to measure height, weight and distance.