Jacob Rees-Mogg's 'biased' consultation of Imperial units gives no opportunity to say 'no'

A "biased" consultation on the reintroduction of imperial measures launched by the government has been criticized for giving the public no chance to reject the change.

Ministers launched a formal inquiry over the summer to gauge the public's appetite to return to the system of archaic measurement - which was phased out over the summer of half a century ago.

But a survey as part of the consultation asked only: "If you had a choice, would you -you buy items: i) in imperial units ii) in imperial units with a metric equivalent”.

No option was provided in the survey question to reject the reintroduction of Imperial Measures.

The exercise is managed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industry l Strategy (BEIS) which is now overseen by Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg.Recommended

In 2019, it was reported that Mr. Rees-Mogg sent a memo to his staff requiring them to work in Imperial units.

In March this year the government was branded 'ridiculous' after The Independent announced that ministers would launch a study into the benefits of switching to the measure mothballed.

But the consultation launched over the summer has been criticized by survey design experts.

"Missing the category you would only prefer metric," survey methods consultant Dr Pamela Campanelli told the BBC's More or Less program, which highlighted the issues.

"We're going to get a biased answer because people have to pick something that doesn't apply to them.

"It looks like they're actually trying to sculpt or direct responses to what they want because they want people to come back to imperial. remember that the esoteric counting system remains attached to it.

The imperial alternative system of measuring the weight and volume of commodities was used more or less exclusively in Britain - although the United States maintain a parallel system with similar names but different measures.

Unlike the metric weight system, in which 1,000 grams equals one kilogram, the imperial system says there are 14 pounds in a stone and 16 ounces in a pound.

< p >For liquids, there are 20 fluid ounces in a pint and 160 fluid ounces in a gallon, instead of the 1,000 metric milliliters in a re liter.

Although the measurements are largely out of official use for about 60 years, politicians believe they are liked by some older voters and thus sometimes become a political issue. In reality, Britain operates a mixed system, with businesses using metric weights and measures, while imperial miles are used on road signs and pints are used in pubs.

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