The UK Metric Association, or UKMA, is an

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...

in the United Kingdom that argues for

metrication in the United Kingdom Metrication, the process of introducing the metric system of measurement in place of imperial units, has made steady progress in the United Kingdom since the mid-20th century but today remains equivocal and varies by context. Most of government, ...

and advocates the use of the metric system among the general public in the UK. UKMA argues that the continued use of two incompatible systems of measurement causes misunderstanding, confusion and mistakes, undermines consumer protection, wastes time during children's education, results in additional costs, and is against the national interest.

History

UKMA was founded by Chris Keenan in 1999 and formally associated in 2002 as an independent, non-party political, single-issue organisation. Later, an e-mail forum was started for supporters of metrication. In 2005, a website called ThinkMetric to help and encourage the general public to think in metric units was launched. In 2006, a blog called MetricViews was launched. The current chair of UKMA is Peter Burke, and the secretary is Ronnie Cohen. its patrons are

Gavin Esler Gavin William James Esler (born 27 February 1953) is a Scottish journalist, television presenter and author. He was a main presenter on BBC Two's flagship political analysis programme, ''Newsnight'', from January 2003 until January 2014, and pr ...

Jim Al-Khalili Jameel Sadik "Jim" Al-Khalili ( ar, جميل صادق الخليلي; born 20 September 1962) is an Iraqi-British theoretical physicist, author and broadcaster. He is professor of theoretical physics and chair in the public engagement in scien ...

, and

Lord Taverne Dick Taverne, Baron Taverne, (born 18 October 1928) is a British politician and life peer who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Lincoln from 1962 to 1974. A member of the Liberal Democrats, he was a Labour MP until his deselection in ...

Strategies

One of UKMA's strategies, aimed at getting their message to a wider audience including journalists and researchers, is to use ''Wikipedia'' as a conduit for their information. In an article in their December 2008 newsletter, members were urged to "correct any inaccuracies" in ''Wikipedia'' articles. It told about the "bias and inaccuracy" in metrication related articles, including

Metrication in the United Kingdom Metrication, the process of introducing the metric system of measurement in place of imperial units, has made steady progress in the United Kingdom since the mid-20th century but today remains equivocal and varies by context. Most of government, ...

, and highlighted the importance of "keeping an eye on them etrication articles visiting them regularly and checking that nobody has reversed any changes that you have made."

Campaigns

In February 2006, UKMA called for the government to set a date for the conversion of road signs from imperial to metric units.

Opposition

The aims of UKMA contrast with those of the

British Weights and Measures Association The spread of metrication around the world in the last two centuries has been met with both support and opposition. Metrication All countries except Liberia have adopted the Metric System as their primary system of measurement, although Liberi ...

(BWMA), which campaigns against compulsory

and advocates the continued use of imperial measures.

References

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External links