Petition · past parliament
Restore British pre-metric weights and measures to trade, society and industry.
Rejected
12 signatures
What the petition asks
Metric measures, such as metres, kilograms and litres were imposed upon us by Europe. Now is the time to express quantity in terms that are traditionally British and with which the majority of its people are more familiar.
It is confusing to sell petrol by the litre when fuel economy is expressed in terms of miles per gallon. My height and weight, for medical purposes, are expressed in meters and kilograms yet distances on our roads are expressed in miles! A cold day is recognised, for example, as minus 4 in Celsius but a hot one as 82 in Fahrenheit! There is a tremendous confusion in our system of weights and measures; let us have our British system back and have clarity and simplicity.
Why it was rejected
It was not clear what the petition asked the UK Government or Parliament to do.
You could start a new petition, calling on Parliament to change the law to require all trade to be carried out using imperial measurements, and calling on all public bodies to use imperial measurements.
Timeline
| 25 Jun 2016 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 5 Jul 2016 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
12
Status
Rejected
Rejected
5 Jul 2016
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.