Jon Bright (London, OK): As a supporter of the principle of the EU it's always been depressing to observe the staggering incompetence and bloody minded bureaucratism by which it seems to be administered. Nothing epitomised this more than a years long wrangle over whether the UK would have to introduce the metric system - the supposed benefits of which have always been far outweighed by the immense amount of pain it would take to transfer and the huge amount of bad will it would generate.
Finally, this debate seems to be over. "The European Union is set to confirm it has abandoned what became one of its most unpopular policies among many people in Britain. It is proposing to allow the UK to continue using pounds, miles and pints as units of measurement indefinitely." Proving once again that Brussels struggles to base policy on the blindingly obvious, EU Industry Commissioner Gunter Verheugen said:
I organised a huge consultation, and the result was that industry told us there was no problem with the existing system.
What scale of consultation was required to find out that people don't actually find the idea of a 'pint' that confusing is unclear. The fact of the matter is that the EU could have solved this debate in about 20 minutes if they had just left the decision up to the people it affected. Instead they tried to impose an absurdly counterproductive measure by central fiat, and thus wasted years in negotiations, who knows how much money in consultations, and made themselves look like idiots into the bargain. No wonder any referendum on an EU treaty looks unwinnable.
