A bright idea? Yes, everyone’s a winner
IN these tough times Britain needs something which does some good, but doesn’t cost any money. Double Summer Time is exactly that.
It’s an all-win situation. It would be good for jobs in tourism and leisure because people like going out when it’s light. Extra daylight boosts general well-being and mental health.
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Research also shows that lighter evenings would save energy and cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Dark evenings when everyone is home mean more energy is used in our houses whereas in the mornings we need power just for short times in bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchens.
Lastly – this is perhaps the clincher – lighter evenings mean fewer road accidents. While there might be a very, very small increase in morning accidents, research shows lighter evenings would reduce them later in the day, saving about 100 lives a year.
That is because morning journeys tend to be those people make every day, to work and school. Later they are less-familiar journeys and people can be a bit careless, so poor light makes accidents more likely.
Just think of all the kids wandering back from school.
I’ve been campaigning for this for about five years and I believe the chance of change is greater now than ever before. The measure has always been more controversial in Scotland because there are parts of the country where it would be dark for a lot of the morning.
The appetite for change is much more favourable now. My party’s tourism team are quite sympathetic, although they haven’t yet made a firm decision. The need to boost jobs and save energy is more urgent than ever and public opinion has moved too. Every week people ask me why this change hasn’t happened yet.
Now we have this terrific Daily Express crusade. I’m excited that we have a proper newspaper backing this campaign. The time for change has come.
l FORMER environment minister Tim Yeo is Conservative MP for South Suffolk and chairs the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee.
