when did the metric system start in uk
mid 1960s
title: Metrication in the United Kingdom text: vehicle fuel economy. In schools metric units are taught and used as the norm and imperial units that remain in common usage in the UK must also be taught. Adopting the metric system was discussed in Parliament as early as 1818 and some industries and even some government agencies had metricated, or were in the process of metricating by the mid-1960s. A formal government policy to support metrication was agreed by 1965. This policy, initiated in response to requests from industry, was to support voluntary metrication, with costs picked up where they fell. In 1969 the government created the Metrication title: Metrication in the United Kingdom text: the adoption in 1971 of a decimal currency. In 1965, the then Federation of British Industry informed the British Government that its members favoured the adoption of the metric system. The Board of Trade, on behalf of the Government, agreed to support a ten-year metrication programme. There would be minimal legislation as the programme was to be voluntary and costs were to be borne where they fell. Work on adapting specifications started almost as soon as the government first gave its approval in 1965. The BSI took the lead in coordinating the efforts of industry, and where appropriate working with title: Metrication in the United Kingdom text: metric system had been published in the "Penny Cyclopeadia" (1833) and "The Companion to the Almanac" (1841). A few days later Wrottesley met with Gladstone, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, but was unable to win him over to the idea. The inherent problems associated with handling multiple currencies and systems of units encountered in the Great Exhibition of 1851 triggered calls for a standardisation of units across Europe with the metric system being suggested as the natural choice. In 1854, de Morgan was influential in setting up the "Decimal Association" to lobby for decimalisation of both measurement and coinage. In title: Metrication in the United Kingdom text: respective yards to be 0.9144 m exactly. The introduction of the metric system was a topic at the Fifth Commonwealth Standards Conference that was held in Sydney in 1962. The following year a poll by the British Standards Institute (BSI) revealed that the majority of its members favoured a transition to the metric system and two years later (1965), after taking a poll of its members, the Confederation of British Industry informed the government that they favoured the adoption of the metric system, though some sectors emphasised the need for a voluntary system of adoption. In 1966 the Government announced title: Metrication in the United Kingdom text: the signatory nations of the treaty. In 1896, Parliament passed the Weights and Measures (Metric System) Act, legalising metric units for all purposes but not making them compulsory. The situation was clarified in 1897 following another Select Committee which also recommended that metrication become compulsory by 1899. In 1902, an Empire conference decided that metrication should be compulsory across the British Empire. In 1904, scientist Lord Kelvin led a campaign for metrication and collected 8 million signatures of British subjects. On the opposition side, 1904 saw the establishment of the British Weights and Measures Association for "the purpose of defending