Although most of the Hodgson Report was rejected at the time as being premature, within a decade and a half changing patterns in British trade meant that in 1963 a poll by the British Standards Institute (BSI) revealed that the majority of its members favoured a transition to the metric system.
Legislation relating to units of measure were normally directed at trade with industry being allowed to develop its own standards.
The report emphasised that unlike currency decimalisation, the [remainder of] the programme would be on a phased basis with no M-Day.
On 14 November 1979, six months after her appointment, she announced that no more statutory orders would be made regarding metrication – continued progress would be on a voluntary basis.
[12] The author of the final report of the Metrication Board wrote "Today metric units are used in many important areas of British life – including education; agriculture; construction; industrial materials; much of manufacturing; the wholesaling of petrol, milk, cheese and textiles; fatstock markets and many port fish auctions, nearly all the principal prepacked foods; posts and telecommunications: most freight and customs tariffs; all new and revised Ordnance Survey maps; and athletics.