That clocks should not go back in winter

[nosswith]

This weekend the clocks go back. Something I object to and would like to see end, at least in England.

Three arguments for doing so used to be made

• dark mornings in Scotland- fair point, now there is a Scottish Parliament and they can decide, there are enough places with two time zones.
• Farming- less people affected now with more mechanisation
• Guy Fawkes Night- I cannot see how one day a year starting with the few celebrations a bit later is an issue.

Since mines, shipyards and factories closed, fewer people start work early, whereas longer retail hours mean more working in the evening. If wfh at least some of the week continues post Covid 19, the numbers going out in the dark mornings will be fewer than before.

AIBU?

YANBU. Would FAR prefer an extra hour of light in the winter evening than in the morning.

Sorry if this is too simple a suggestion but what about 30 mins instead of an hour? Half & half??

I am looking forward to the clock in the car being right next week

We bought our car during BST so it's about to enter its annual 5 months of being an hour fast!

Well...that would certainly make working out the time elsewhere in world fun (thinking of those that travel or communicate across borders..)

Then again there are some places that are already have a half hour as well as integral hours to chuck into the time change (e.g. India, South Australia).

Maybe for real fun and games and confusion we just ought to go to back to Local Time..(as defined by the Sun, locally - as was done pre the railways before all this standard and mean time stuff started...)....

That was for DC3...nice user name BTW

@LomasLongstrider

I hate the clocks going forward and it takes weeks for me to adjust. I'm always glad when they go back, as by the time they do I feel like my body needs it. I've been struggling to get up at the usual time this last week or two, despite going to bed at the usual time.

I think I'd rather they didn't go forward (and thus didn't need to go back), though not exactly sure of what the implications of that would be (will rtft soon as I'm sure someone has explained it).

Glad its not just me, I really struggle when clock go forward and find by the time it gets to June I have trouble getting to sleep when its light as my body thinks its earlier, and I love spring and summer time but think I would be better with clocks not changing

Well I look forward to an extra hour in bed
I'm not a morning person so getting up when its still dark would be very hard

I've been looking forward to my extra hour in bed on Sunday for about six weeks.

Unfortunately for them their own polling shows the same as the poll on this thread, that the British public are split right down the middle and there isn’t a convincing majority for change.

I can think of something else that that could have been said about. Didn't stop it though. Unfortunately.

I was never particularly bothered either way although if pushed I'd have said I'd broadly prefer staying on BST.

This year I have a nearly 2 year old and I'm dreading the clocks going back. She gets up early enough as it is!! Having to adjust a small child's sleep patterns twice a year is just an additional hassle parents don't need!

I still have the impression that more people support sticking on either BST all year (as I would prefer) or GMT all year (as some others do), than the present arrangement.

To those who asked about where I live, I have spent about half my adult life in the north east of England and half in London.

I still have the impression that more people support sticking on either BST all year (as I would prefer) or GMT all year (as some others do), than the present arrangement.

You may be right, but people tend to be more vocal when they are arguing against a status quo than when they are defending it. There's always a flurry of media/social media activity complaining about the clocks changing when it happens - people are less likely to write to the Daily Mail enthusing about the back and forth.

My preferences in order would be -

1. Year round GMT
2. Continue as we are
3. Compromise of year-round GMT plus 30 minutes
4. Year round BST
5. Double summer time

I prefer to stick as we are and the changes happen just at the right time IMHO

I love the extra hour of light in the morning that the clocks going back in October provides but equally always feel ready for the extra hour in the evening at the end of March (by which point the mornings are starting to get lighter anyway so I can cope with sacrificing the morning light by that point)

If it ain't broke.....

YANBU

@EhUp

I prefer to stick as we are and the changes happen just at the right time IMHO

I love the extra hour of light in the morning that the clocks going back in October provides but equally always feel ready for the extra hour in the evening at the end of March (by which point the mornings are starting to get lighter anyway so I can cope with sacrificing the morning light by that point)

If it ain't broke.....

The more I think about it the more I think we shouldn't change it.

I definitely don't want it being pitch back for the morning commuters inc school kids. And at least when kids are coming home the roads are quieter than the morning rush. I don't think kids would really benefit for the daylight to change at 4.30 rather than 3.30

But summer, when we have more light anyway it is nice to enjoy the summer evenings. And when it's still light at 10.30 at night and daylight at 4am who really cares.

It does make a difference where I am, so i support the clock change.

YANBU
Longer afternoons / evenings would be great
and our internal body clocks wouldn't have to adjust to clock changes twice per year

Gosh, I am really sorry for asking what must seem the stupidest question ever but I am not British and while I've always understood the reduced daylight hours in winter, I've never realised it's dar at 7 a.m or 4 p.m

Would anyone be kind enough to tell me what it's like? Is it pitch black at 7 am? That must be very strange.

It's just beginning to get light where I live in SE England @PumpkinPieAlibi
It sounds busy outside though, so business as usual.

@PumpkinPieAlibi

Gosh, I am really sorry for asking what must seem the stupidest question ever but I am not British and while I've always understood the reduced daylight hours in winter, I've never realised it's dar at 7 a.m or 4 p.m

Would anyone be kind enough to tell me what it's like? Is it pitch black at 7 am? That must be very strange.

There are two factors in play - firstly, the natural seasonal variation in daylight hours in the British isles, and secondly the clock change - here known as 'British Summer Time' - the equivalent of Daylight Saving Time.

Because of the UK's position on the earth, we have significant seasonal variation in daylight hours (although not as extreme as, say, Norway). Then, there are regional variations within the UK - the differences are more extreme the further north you go.

I live in northern England. At the height of summer - i.e. the solstice, June 21st - it's light in the mornings before 4am (BST) and not dark until nearly 10pm (BST).

In the depths of winter, i.e. the winter solstice, December 21st, it's not light until about 9:30am (GMT) and it's dark again by 3:30pm (GMT).

So in answer to your question, yes, it's pitch black at 7 for about half the year. Today (a few days before the clocks change) it's 7am now and it's pitch black and won't be light until 8am.

But on Sunday, when the clocks go back, it will be light at 7 again, although that time will creep up every day, so in a few weeks it will be dark again at 7am.

Definitely want to stay on BST all year round.

I am looking forward to the clock in the car being right next week
😀😀😀😀

I live in Scotland and would love it if they stopped this. Lighter after school and in the late afternoon would be so much better.

For the benefit of @PumpkinPieAlibi it's now 07:25 BST and the sun is just rising where I am - sky getting lighter and a pale pink glow on the horizon.

"Following the EU just isn't appropriate in this instance because most of its member states, with the possible exception of the Irish Republic, aren't as affected by seasonal darkness as we are."

Ehm, what? Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Denmark, Netherlands, parts of Poland, parts of Germany, parts of Belgium are all at similar or higher latitudes than various parts of the UK.