Asda chairman Lord Rose of Monewden has slammed plans to reinstate imperial measurements as ‘complete and utter rubbish,’ accusing the government of pandering to a’small minority who hearken back to the past.’
The Conservative peer’s remarks come as the government prepares to conduct a survey on the extent to which Britain should use imperial measurements after leaving the EU, such as pounds and ounces.
Pub landlords will be told they can serve pints in glasses adorned with a Crown as part of the plans, which coincide with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
The previous EU requirement for a ‘CE’ mark, established in 2004, was said to have effectively resulted in the removal of the emblem from pint glasses.
Brexiteers have applauded the return to imperial measurements, which the UK had abandoned due to EU regulations.
Industry organizations, on the other hand, have warned that new regulations aimed at reforming the way the UK measures food and drink could drive up already sky-high costs even higher.
They expressed concerns that the cost of having to relabel products would exacerbate the cost-of-living crisis.
Lord Rose, a former chairman of Marks & Spencer, said on Times Radio about the move:
‘I’ve never heard such nonsense in my life. I mean, we have got serious problems in the world and we’re now saying let’s go backwards.
‘Does anybody in this country below the age of about 40 know how many ounces there are in a pound?
‘Are we going to go down to the supermarket and say, “I’ll have a pound and a half please”, or “One pound, four ounces” of this or that? We’re doing it just to actually please a small minority of people who hark for the past.’
He added: ‘I’m shocked. It’s one thing having a crown on your pint glass, which is a bit of fun and a bit of nostalgia. It’s not that having a whole dual system of weights and measures.’
‘There is no desire to push firms to change their existing methods,’ the government stated, adding that “this would not inflict extra costs on enterprises.”
Conservative MPs were left red-faced earlier this week when they were unable to quantify key imperial measures.
Conservative peer Lord Parkinson only gave one correct response when asked about ounces, pounds, and pints on Sky News.
There are 16 ounces in a pound, not 14, as Lord Parkinson claimed.