Lighter Later: 10:10 calls for UK to switch to Central European Time

[RowanMumsnet]

As some of you will know, 10:10 - along with some tourist and road safety organisations - is calling for the UK to make a permanent switch to Central European Time (GMT+2 in the summer, and GMT+1 in the winter). Some studies suggest that this would save on carbon emissions, reduce road deaths, provide a boost to tourism revenue, and increase general wellbeing by providing more opportunities for social activities and outdoor pursuits during the winter evenings.

In the past, opposition to this suggestion has focused on its impact on people in Scotland, but a recent report by the Policy Studies Institute argues that the move would be beneficial for Scotland overall.

On 3 December the Daylight Saving Bill will receive its second reading in Parliament. The bill calls for the government to conduct a cross-departmental cost-benefit analysis of the clock change. If the benefits are confirmed, it calls for a three-year trial to be enacted. Click here if you'd like to ask your MP to support the bill.

And as ever, do let us know your thoughts.

[CerealOffender]

i am in scotland and i hate the dark afternoons.

[Eleison]

"Boost to tourism" and "more opportunities for social activities..." suggest "even more time for busnesses to expand consumerist activity"

I worry that if this move is supported by business for the opportunities it brings to market more activities later in the day it will mean even more historically 'social' time during which employees are pressured to work, and also greater power consumption and other environmental costs associated with this further expansion of marketed leisure.

Anyone know if these worries are ill-founded?

And in the north of England, I'm not tempted to support it in any case. As a Scottish commentator said the other day, southerners just get up earlier, start school at eight, etc.

[CerealOffender]

scotland is further north and has less daylight in winter

[CerealOffender]

well no, you are always going to have the same amount of hours daylight but the theory is that the hour change benefits kids and workers in the mornings. personally i think it is shite

[RockBat]

No no and no. FFS how can the Greenwich Meridian be in a different time zone to the house next door?

[RockBat]

Just leave it as it is. Stop moving forward in the spring and learn to live with it. This annual tripe makes my eyes bleed with frustration.

[UpSinceCrapOClock]

I don't get it either

I'm living in CET (Denmark) and our clocks also changed yesterday, so we are still an hour ahead of the UK, just as we were last week?

[MmeLindt]

This is one of these things that I struggle to get my head around.

OK. If UK is on ECT, then when I phoned my mum this morning it would have been 8am not 7am there. Was it still dark this morning at 7am GMT?

I would like it as it would stop me phoning my mum at 7am after forgetting AGAIN that we are an hour ahead.

[DanceOnTheDarkSide]

Now that the clocks have gone back...when they next go forward in spring can't we just bring it forward by half an hour and put an end to this daft to and fro-ing with time?

[mozette]

If this campaign is really backed by road safety campaigners I assume they are English road safety campaigners as if we go to CET it won't get light until 10am in some parts of Scotland - so any carbon saving made would be negated by loads of parents driving their kids to school when previously they have walked by themselves.

Mind you we are a hardy bunch up here so we would probably cope :)

[suzikettles]

So, in Scotland it'll still be dark when we go into work, and have got dark when we leave work.

Ah well, at least people in Southern England will be able to enjoy their gardens for an extra hour in the summer. So that's ok then.

[Tee2072]

I agree with Rockbat. I just can't wrap my head around Britain, the home of Greenwich, being on a different time than Greenwich itself.

It's bonkers.

[HabbiBOOOO]

Think there are better campaigns for MN, tbh. And y, i am in Scotland, but even so.

[werewolf]

I wouldn't support it.

[DamselInDisgrace]

I don't support any change of timezone that still requires this clocks back and forth biannual nonsense. Let's just stick with GMT all year round.

[CerealOffender]

tbh dec-feb are pretty much dark all day in scotland. i would support a campaign for human hibernation during january in scotland

[GrimmaTheNome]

Let's just stick with GMT all year round.

just how early do you want the dawn chorus in summer? That would be dreadful!

We don't live our lives symmetrically around midday, so the change does actually make sense. If the scandinavians can manage their limited daylight, so can the scots, surely.

[BadPoet]

I'm in Scotland - I really don't get it. It seems to me that in the winter it's dark when we wake up and dark by about 4pm anyway, any benefit we gain by changing the clocks doesn't feel like it lasts long (must pay attention this year!). I am not particularly far north though so maybe it makes a bigger difference there.

I hate the clocks changing, it completely throws bedtimes out and always has.

[DamselInDisgrace]

Ime, Scotlamd is often dark all day long in winter (especially on the many rainy days). I remember going to school in the dark and coming home in the dark. Staying in GMT would make no difference. Similarly, in the summer it's light early and stays light til late, so I don't see why we need to put the clocks forward. DH was amazed how late it stays light the first time we went up to visit my folks (and they only live in the central belt).

[poppyknot]

I can't really get around the fact that we would be on Central Eurupean Time. Geographically we are not central Europe. As you go further north and west the sunrises later in the winter, and in Europe we are in the north and west. Like Tee2072 I think the Greenwich bit of GMT is relevant.

I was feeling quite open minded about having a trial but since hearing the man behind the report on a phone-in on Radio Scotland this morning I am for the status quo. The reasoning behind it did not convince. Dr Hillman was rather disdaining about the fact that children would go to school in the dark in the winter and said that they only went to school for half of their time in the year all told.(hmm].

I cannot see that an extra hour of daylight will effect tourism that much. And if it did they would all flock to Scotland where daylght in the summer is forever............

[poppyknot]

From Lighter Later
"Everybody loves the sunshine. But every year we set our clocks so that we get less of it in our lives, sleeping through the sunlit mornings while we use expensive, polluting electric light in the evenings. Lighter Later is a campaign to brighten all of our days, moving the clocks forward by one hour so that we are awake when the sun is out."

If they could guarantee this winter sunshine throughout maybe it would be worth voting for . This just makes the campaign sound innane to me I'm afraid. In the winter we tend to have the lights on all day............

[GrimmaTheNome]

Winter is a PITA whichever way you cut it in the north, but double summer time would be great. It gets light too early and those bloody birds don't care what the clock is set to.