British campaigners against European Union plans to outlaw imperial measures like pounds and ounces have claimed victory, according to news reports today. The self-styled ‘metric martyrs’ say they have say they have won the battle to keep Britain imperial, after confirmation from the European Commission’s industry commissioner, Gunther Verheugen, that dual marking of goods in imperial and metric would “continue indefinitely”. Previously the Commission had set a 2009 deadline for the phasing out of imperial measures still widely used in British greengrocers, butchers and supermarkets. Continue Reading…

On Thursday this week, British Prime Minister Tony Blair will announce the date he will step down as premier, all but cementing a July handover to his long time political friend and rival Gordon Brown. As Chancellor Brown moves nextdoor into Number 10 Downing Street, he faces some big challenges on the economy and on reinvigorating the domestic policy agenda. But the only way he will be able to make the necessary break with the Blair era and restore the Labour Party’s electoral fortunes is to offer a full and unequivocal apology for the mistakes of the government’s policy towards Iraq. Continue Reading…

The final few days of British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s time in office are well and truly underway. Damaged by the hugely unpopular Iraq War, and having already committed to resigning before September this year, he has now said he will announce his plans within the next week – beginning … Continue Reading…