Plan to bring UK clocks forward

[Deleted member 1258]

I remember them messing with the clocks in the early seventies and the darker for longer mornings, I prefer the present arrangement. The thing is can we change the clocks? Or do we have to do what the EU tell us to?

 

[aberal]

We don't' have to do what the EU thinks we should do - it's not an EU issue.

The big advantage of changing, aside from the fact that there would be longer evenings in both summer and winter, is that statistically, when the experiment to change was carried out in the 70's, the numbers of road deaths fell, specifically amongst children. It was found that they tend to go straight to school in the morning but charge about in the evenings on the way home and were more vulnerable in the dark evenings. Good presentation of the pros for change by Dr Mayer Hillman is on the link by the OP.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

I don't care. It's news to me, working nights as I do, that it gets light during the day at all ...

 

[ColinJ]

I remember them messing with the clocks in the early seventies and the darker for longer mornings, I prefer the present arrangement. The thing is can we change the clocks? Or do we have to do what the EU tell us to?

I'm a bit worried that I have absolutely no recollection of the experimental change back then!

I would have thought that the EU would be quite pleased if all the member nations chose to be in the same time zone.

The way I look at it is that if you are working during the day, or at school, someone else has control of those hours of your life so if some of your waking hours have to be dark, they might as well be some of those. For my free time, I want it light!

 

[phaedrus]

Wales and Scotland can do what they want, since they have have their own Parliament and we subsidise them to do whatever they fancy

Scotland has a Parliament, Wales doesn't. Why does someone hard of thinking always trot out the "subsidy" nonsense when the issue of changing clocks is being discussed?

 

[mangaman]

Scotland has a Parliament, Wales doesn't. Why does someone hard of thinking always trot out the "subsidy" nonsense when the issue of changing clocks is being discussed?

Frankly I don't care.

The Scots are in the most privalaged position in the UK - having a Parliament as well as having the ability to pontificate to me in Sussex at will. (I feel a far greater afinity to France/Belgium etc as they're only a few hours away for me).

Forget subsidies then - why can't hard of thinking Scots pass a motion through their Assembly and move to whatever time zone they want to ally with.

England should simply switch to European time and leave the Scots to do whatever they wish.

We won't - because the Tories hate Europe

The logistics of having two time zones in the UK will be too much for train companies / busses etc to understand.

(Despite, for example, Spain and Portugal having different time zones and appearing to exist)

 

[Aperitif]

You can't say - it would be significantly worse for everyone in the North - then say, in the next sentence, an extra hour in the evenings for a few weeks a year might make an improvement.

The total amount of daylight stays the same.

Ergo your significant nightmare for everyone of dark mornings - will last a few weeks only.

Scottish people will have a few more weeks of darkness and a few more weeks of extremely late sunsets. Most of my Scottish friends feel that one of the advantages of living up there are the endless summer evenings.

I suppose logic would put England on CET and Wales and Scotland can do what they want, since they have have their own Parliament and we subsidise them to do whatever they fancy

Now we're cooking! Actually, Scotland already have a Black Watch.

"Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination. Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today." Lord Chesterfield...

 

[phaedrus]

Frankly I don't care.

The Scots are in the most privalaged position in the UK - having a Parliament as well as having the ability to pontificate to me in Sussex at will. (I feel a far greater afinity to France/Belgium etc as they're only a few hours away for me).

Forget subsidies then - why can't hard of thinking Scots pass a motion through their Assembly and move to whatever time zone they want to ally with.

England should simply switch to European time and leave the Scots to do whatever they wish.

We won't - because the Tories hate Europe

The logistics of having two time zones in the UK will be too much for train companies / busses etc to understand.

(Despite, for example, Spain and Portugal having different time zones and appearing to exist)

No,really, it's not that difficult - you just have to try a bit harder. Repeat after me: "Wales has an Assembly, Scotland has a Parliament." There, that wasn't so hard, was it?

Oh and it's "privileged".

 

[zizou]

The big advantage of changing, aside from the fact that there would be longer evenings in both summer and winter, is that statistically, when the experiment to change was carried out in the 70's, the numbers of road deaths fell, specifically amongst children. It was found that they tend to go straight to school in the morning but charge about in the evenings on the way home and were more vulnerable in the dark evenings. Good presentation of the pros for change by Dr Mayer Hillman is on the link by the OP.

The experiment lasted between 1968 and 1971 but the initial study of the road accident data (which commentators are still using as evidence of the roads being safer) did not take into account the impact of the drink driving legislation which was passed in 1967. Anyway in Scotland there was a net increase in the number of people killed or seriously injured on the roads over the experiment period so any potential safety benefit was not felt in the north.

 

[zizou]

You can't say - it would be significantly worse for everyone in the North - then say, in the next sentence, an extra hour in the evenings for a few weeks a year might make an improvement.

You are omitting the part where i said in the south. Worse in the north and maybe a marginal improvement in the South. Like it or not the UK is a landmass that extends north of London.

Anyway those in the south are too busy working to subsidise us so they'll never finish work before it is dark anyway, so what is the point?

The total amount of daylight stays the same.

So why change it? Daylight is the same, get up out your bed earlier and utilise what there is better

Ergo your significant nightmare for everyone of dark mornings - will last a few weeks only.

But the problem is the dark evenings will still be there - an hours difference wont change it significantly so in effect most people going to and from work in the dark for pretty much a quarter of the year, which is worse than the situation just now

 

[Alien8]

What I want to know is why aren't the clock changes made more equi-distanced from the winter solstice, ie why doesn't BST start nearer the end of February rather than the current near end of March? I haven't found an explanation for this imbalance but I'd like to know why.

 

[XmisterIS]

I think it is an excellent idea to move to GMT+1 and GMT+2, but only because I prefer lighter evenings and I prefer it if the sun rises an hour later in the morning. But that's just my personally preference. I do remember this being debated on a half-hour slot on Radio 4 a few years back and there was a Gael from the Western Isles putting forward the case for Scotland. As I recall, he started banging on about "Sassenach invaders" and Scottish independence and revolution and a "New Jacobite Army" and various other things like that. By the end of the interview he was almost shouting at the interviewer, whom he had by that point branded a "Sassenach oppressor". The guy sounded like he was practically foaming at the mouth ...

 

[dodgy]

What I want to know is why aren't the clock changes made more equi-distanced from the winter solstice, ie why doesn't BST start nearer the end of February rather than the current near end of March? I haven't found an explanation for this imbalance but I'd like to know why.

I wrote to my MP (yes really) in support of the lighter evenings campaign and pointed this out. I've not had an answer either.

 

[tyred]

I like it the way it is. I'm very much a morning person and prefer my daylight in the morning.

 

[mcshroom]

I live within 30 miles of Scotland so my day lengths are pretty similar to those in Southern Scotland. I also live in a rural area where the standard working (not school) day is more 8-4 than 9-5. This means that effectively we do live to GMT+1

Personally I would find moving to GMT+1 beneficial as the morning is just getting to work whereas I have more time to explore in the evening. Also the drivers in the morning seem to be slightly more attentive than those heading home. Of course you do still have those who haven't woken up but that will be true whatever.

By the way today the daylight times are: -

• London 7:03 - 17:26
• Whitehaven 7:21 - 17:30
• Edinburgh 7:25 - 17:29
• Wick 7:31 - 17:23

I think having the daylight at 18:00 would be better than at 7:00. Those of us with some degree of flexitime don't need to worry too much about it anyway.