Radio Exe's April Fool's joke is now government policy

Ministers consider return to imperial measures

The government is to review whether 'imperial' measurements should be reintroduced - bringing to life a Radio Exe April Fool's joke from 2018.

As a legal way of pricing goods, pounds and ounces were ditched at the beginning of the century, although they can still be displayed alongside grammes and kilos.

Now the government is considering bringing the old measures back. 

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is reviewing “overbearing EU rules” regarding weights and measurements and restore “common sense” to the law.

That idea has been attacked by Conservative peer Lord Rose, who is chairman of Asda, who wonders whether anyone under 40 knows how many ounces are in a pound (the answer is 16). There are 14 pounds in a stone.

This will mean people becoming more familiar with their 14 and 16 times tables, rather than the awkward and hated EU 'decimal' system which is based on units of 10.

At the time we thought we were writing a spoof. But government truth could turn out to be better than Radio Exe fiction.

Although the story in our news bulletins and online on 1 April 2018 focused on money - outlining a return to pounds, shillings and pence - we said the government would then turn its "attention to weights and measures, making it illegal to sell milk or petrol in litres.

"From next year, schools sports days will revert to hundred yard dashes," we suggested. "The 100-metres will be banned, except in European competitions.

"The Federation Of Official Levies is publishing a consultation pamphlet which will be available online for three and sixpence."

Now the government is launching a consultation - and marking the platinum jubilee with plans to introduce a crown symbol on pint glasses to show they hold the traditional measure, rather than any denomination of litre.

Business minister Paul Scully said: “While we think of our fruit and veg by the pound, the legacy of EU rules means we legally have to sell them by the kilo. Our consultation today will help shops to serve customers in the way their customers want.”

So whilst Radio Exe was prescient in thoughts that a post-Brexit return to old money could be followed by weights and measures, the government is acting backwards. 

They are going for weights and measures first.

A shilling says cash may be next!

Read our original article here: https://bit.ly/3xcAkH9