Imperial or metric? Why can’t we have both?

I was in the Netherlands over the weekend, which is always nice; it’s a bit like England, but just better. I’ve always wanted my country to be a bit more like our neighbours, especially Germany and Holland, and that includes standardisation with European norms when they clearly make more sense.

Driving on the left, for example, when the entire continent drives on the right, is just annoying, and must make our cars more expensive and cost a handful of lives each year. And if you don’t have anyone in a passenger seat you have to get out whenever dealing with any sort of parking or toll machine; as I get older this is one of those things that just get more annoying, like having to tie shoelaces.

Another quirky annoyance is the imperial system of weights and measurements, which is quaint but clearly less rational than the metric. British politicians have been debating metrification for almost two centuries now, but it has never really happened, and remains unpopular with a lot of people.