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.

Actually, Scotland would benefit - like Iceland does - because it would be lighter for more of the afternoon.

But does it rain in Iceland as often as Scotland? :)

Oh yes! And normally when it rains there, there is a gale blowing as well (I once offered an Icelandic customer a corporate brnaded golf umberalla and he said it would be uselss as when it rains it is too windy to use an umbrella (as it happend, when his son got married, it did rain wiohut wind and the umbrella featured prominently in all the wedding photos )

Sounds like scotland then ;)

...maybe that's why I feel an affinity with the place and like visitng/doing business with the Icelanders!

So if we were on CET time how would it effect us when CET goes forward an hour to CET+1.

DD: the idea is to go onto BST (ie GMT+1) in winter and then double summer time (GMT+2) in summer: ie we would be on the same time zone as Farnce, Germany, Spain all year round.

Thank you PB! I get it now < I think >

Is this part of the coalitions plans to hide the problems with unemployment in the north behind a veil of darkness?

Seriously. People can't get their head round switching over to digital TV, I really am not sure they'd cope with moving the clocks two hours too

would it still be GMT?

So, the idea being 2 hours ahead forever?

No it wouldn't still be GMT, how could it be? No one is able to answer that one, strangely. You can't have the Greenwich Meridian in a different time zone to the street that it's in FFS. Any idiot must be able to see that. But all the posters whinging on about how dark it is outside don't seem to be able to answer that one.

Sorry ilovemydogs, I wasn't implying that you were an idiot, twas a turn of phrase.

Lets do away with the clock thing and just guess what time we want it to be.

Actually, my whole post looks aggressive 'cos it's sort of answering yours ilovemydogandMrObama. Wasn't intentional, promise!

Scotland here, was dark just after 4pm today

saorachd, you say that, but I believe it was only with the arrival of the railways that the whole country had to agree to be on the same time, wasn't it? see here, under 'history'. Perhaps we could do that. Two hands on the clock 'proper time' and 'time those pesky southerners (and prettybird) want it to be'.

More and more time-telling devices are self-updating these days, anyway. They don't need us any more. I reckon we should just look out the window to see if it is light and let the clocks lead their own life. I'm certainly not going to go along with optimizing daylight for the leisure industry.

rockbird I wasn't offended

Think I may be confused between coordinated universal time, and GMT. Obviously GMT cannot be changed as it's based on latitude and longitude.

coordinated universal time

. Trouble is, I'd never get the DSs to school between November and March if we did that here eleison. Still, that would perhaps have its recompense come June...

How can anyone be against it?

Unless I have misunderstood it is not asking for the clocks to be changed it is asking for a study to be done looking at the possible costs and benefits. Only having a trial if the study suggested it would be beneficial.

I know it is the first step along the road to a time change but surely it would only be done if it was deemed to be beneficial to the vast majority of people. Ok maybe those people would all live in the south but they would still be the vast majority.

Is this right or am I missing something here?

For the record, I live in the south and like the current arrangement however if more people benefited than did not then I would be all for it.

I think the lighter later idea would be a mad idea in Scotland, but I'm happy for England to do it if that's what you want. More on my reasoning tomorrow, just marking my place.

Is anyone thinking about how this would affect people in Orkney or Shetland?

There may be a link between lower Vitamin D levels and M.S. Orkney has one of the highest instances of MS per head of population in Europe.
Many people in Scotland already fall well below the vit D levels because of the lack of sunlight so if the day was, in effect, shorter then I think there is real cause for concern.

In winter the day wouldn't be shorter just 'start' at a different amount of darkness saorachd. I think that this is an important issue especially as I have MS and am in Scotland.

Am particularly aware of the sunlight and Vit D levels being a possible trigger. As a for instance though my DDs went off to school in beautiful sunshine this morning. Had the clocks not gone back, it would have been dreary dawn..... There is a boy up here who is campaigning to get Viatamin D offered like folic acid to pregnant women (I think). His mum has MS.

I say again, what do you propose is done about the meridian? It's a basic but unmovable fact. If you change that, you change the rest of the planet. Nope, still can't answer that one... You can waffle on about hours and yellow neon vests and Vit D but it is unworkable.

i never understand this. it was dark at 4pm today, and at 5pm last week. i preferred 5pm.

so are we proposing changing to 3pm? surely to christ not?