UK Metric Association

The UK Metric Association, or UKMA, is an advocacy group in the United Kingdom that argues for Metrication in the United Kingdom 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 secretary of UKMA is Derek Pollard. Political patrons include Lord Kinnock (Lab), Dr Nick Palmer (Lab) and Ian Taylor (Con).
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, and highlighted the importance of "keeping an eye on them [metrication articles], visiting them regularly and checking that nobody has reversed any changes that you have made."
Publications.
UKMA has released four major reports, aimed at stimulating discussion in Britain about completing the transition to international standard units:
In 2009, UKMA published an update to Signs Ahead", which reflects the changes that have happened since the publication of the Metric Signs Ahead report. In the same year, UKMA published a traffic signs leaflet called Signs 2.0", which recommends changes to UK road signs to improve clarity, legibility and safety by using universally understood symbols and units of measurement.
Opposition.
The aims of UKMA contrast with those of the British Weights and Measures Association (BWMA), which campaigns against compulsory Metrication in the United Kingdom and advocates the continued use of imperial measures.