Britain’s House of Lords voted Wednesday to ensure pubs can still serve beer in pints — a cherished measure (of just over half a litre) that survived the country’s switch to the metric system from 1965.
The Brexit referendum saw much debate over a return to British imperial measures such as pounds for weight, feet for length, and pints for liquids, instead of the metric system of the European Union — and most of the rest of the world.
After Brexit, however, the Conservative government decided to stick with the metric system while maintaining a status quo on beer and certain other commodities, such as fruits and vegetables sold in street markets.
The debate in the House of Lords followed Conservative claims that the new Labour government wanted to use proposed legislation to ban pubs from selling pints.
“‘Fancy a pint?’ is one of the most enjoyable questions in the English language. Let’s make sure it stays that way,” said Tory Lord Andrew Sharpe.
He described the pint as a British “institution… linked to our history, and a part of our heritage”.
Ultimately the government-backed an amendment tabled by the Liberal Democrats, billed as a “safeguard”, which would prohibit any future law restricting the use of the pint when selling beer, cider or milk.
“The government has absolutely no plans to change the rules around the use of the pint measurement,” said Labour’s Lord Sonny Leong.
“With the weather finally improving, it is very much my hope that pubs up and down the country will be full of customers enjoying pints of refreshing beer or cider. The pint is safe with us.”
