Daylight victory
MPs yesterday backed the Daily Express crusade to bring more sunshine into our lives.
They voted overwhelmingly for a Bill to move clocks forward by one hour all year round – despite opposition from the Government.
Tory MP Rebecca Harris won cross-party support for her Private Member’s Bill to put Britain on summer time in winter and double summer time in summer.
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She said the move would save up to 80 lives a year on the roads, boost tourism revenues by up to £4billion and reduce energy use. Citing letters of support from members of the public, Ms Harris said: “All these people believe a small adjustment in our clocks has not only the potential to save scores of lives on our roads but make us happier, healthier and wealthier as a nation.”
Tory Tobias Ellwood told MPs: “It is hard to imagine a more simple, cost-effective piece of legislation which would dramatically change our way of life for the better. Sunshine brightens our day, our lives and our spirits. It makes our world happier.”
He dismissed claims in some quarters that the switch would put the UK on to “Berlin time”.
He said that, as the clocks were changed to double summer time during the war, a more appropriate term would be “Churchill time”.
The Bill was passed resoundingly by 92 votes to 10 despite Business Minister Ed Davey declaring the Government’s opposition. Mr Davey said: “One thing we remain convinced about, and which must lead us to oppose this Bill, is we cannot make this change unless and until we have consensus on this matter throughout the UK.” That consensus did not exist, he told MPs.
He added: “Our quandary is this – we appreciate the benefits that this change can bring but we don’t want any one community to be disadvantaged or to feel that they have had such a fundamental change to their daily lives foisted upon them.”
Resistance to the move is strongest in Scotland and Northern Ireland, where some people fear having dark mornings and nights in the long northern winter. Yet Ms Harris went into the debate with the backing of the Scottish National Farmers Union.
She said the Bill, which now goes to committee stage for scrutiny by MPs and peers, seeks a consensus before any trial goes ahead.
The Bill requires the Government to conduct a cross-departmental analysis of the potential costs and benefits. This evidence has then to be assessed by an independent commission.
If the commission considers that the move would benefit the whole of the UK, a three-year trial will follow.
Ms Harris said the Bill did “not enforce an immediate change” but simply asked the Government to “take an objective, informed decision based on the best available evidence”.
She said: “You cannot grow time, you cannot make more of it than you have and you cannot create additional daylight. But it is up to us to utilise both as best we can.” Britain is currently on Greenwich Meantime (GMT) in winter and GMT+1 or British Summertime (BST) in summer.
Ms Harris favours moving to BST in winter and BST+1 in summer, which would put Britain in the same time zone as most of its European trading partners. The Bill’s success will now allow the case to be put before the public – and increase the pressure on the Government to change its stance.
After the vote, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said: “We are very pleased that after decades of campaigning we are now much closer to having a fresh look at the benefits of lighter evenings all year round.
“We are confident that a review across all Government departments would show what we’ve always known – that aligning our waking lives more closely with the hours of available daylight would produce a range of big benefits for everybody, not least safer roads. The evidence shows that an extra hour of evening daylight would save about 80 lives and prevent more than 200 serious injuries every year. We hope this vote will ultimately lead to a three-year trial that will prove once and for all that we all stand to gain from this change.”
AA president Edmund King said: “Our research shows that the switch is supported by the majority of drivers across the UK. There are clear road safety benefits. The time has come to stop talking about it and take action that will benefit road safety, the environment and the elderly.”
Vince Yearley, of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said: “We’re pleased the Bill has gone through.”
Labour supporters included former Cabinet minister Ben Bradshaw, who said: “I can think of no other piece of legislation that has the potential to spread so much happiness across the United Kingdom.”
