Why do the clocks have to go back? We shed some light on why we should be on Summer Time all year long
DARKER evenings return when the clocks go back this weekend – but campaigners say it is time to see the light.
There are calls to move Britain to Single/Double Summer Time (SDST), meaning we would use Greenwich Mean Time +1 in winter and GMT +2 in the summer.
It would gain us an extra hour of daylight at the end of the day and sync us with the rest of Europe.
Supporters argue switching would make us happier, wealthier and healthier and even save lives.
We have tinkered with time in the past, most notably during a three-year trial in 1968, which kept the clocks fixed on GMT+1.
The move was unpopular in Scotland then and remains a sticking point today, as longer evenings south of the border mean darker mornings further north.
Here, we shed some light on the case for SDST.
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Cut energy bills by £485 million
THE reason summer clocks were first moved forward a century ago was to conserve energy and boost working hours. Surrey builder William Willett’s campaign for two clock changes a year led to the Summer Time Act 1916.
Shifting them on another hour now could have an even greater effect.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge found that an extra hour of daylight in the winter could save £485million in bills every year.
Moving to SDST would also cut carbon emissions by 450,000 tonnes, a huge boost for conservation efforts.
Elizabeth Garnsey, who led the report, said 0.5 per cent of Britain’s energy production is wasted under our current GMT arrangements
She explained: “This is because it tends to get light in the mornings before most people are awake for quite a large part of the GMT period, whereas everybody is up and about in the early evening.”
More time for sport for all ages
AS we grapple with a growing obesity crisis, an extra hour of daylight could be invaluable to the nation’s health.
More light after work and school means more time for sports and outdoor activities such as jogging, football and tennis.
One study of 23,000 children carried out at the University of Bristol found that their daily activity levels were 15 to 20 per cent higher on summer days than winter days – and that moving the clocks back causes a five per cent drop in physical activity.
Bosses at the Football Association, the Lawn Tennis Association and the England and Wales Cricket Board have all backed year-round daylight savings, arguing that more ordinary people will be able to exercise, while professional athletes can train for longer.
Extra sunlight makes us happier
MANY of us feel that little bit more miserable during the darker months but for millions the winter blues are serious enough to be classed as seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
It is thought an extra hour of daylight would help the most vulnerable to be more positive.
The NHS reckons that one in 15 people suffers from SAD, and it can be so disabling for some that they cannot function in winter without continuous treatment.
The consequences can be severe. Last month, Childline revealed there were more calls about suicide in winter than in summer, with most at night.
The main theory behind seasonal depression is that the lack of sunlight stops a part of the brain – the hypothalamus – working properly, causing a persistent low mood, tiredness, feelings of despair and the desire to binge-eat.
Elderly more likely to leave the house
SOME older people feel that the onset of darkness is effectively a curfew, with many nervous to venture outside after dusk. In the winter this means they are isolated from mid-afternoon.
Charity Age UK found that after the clocks change, 66 per cent fewer older people went out in the evenings.
More than 40 per cent admitted to feeling depressed and almost 25 per cent said they were grumpier.
Lighter evenings should encourage them to remain active for more hours in the day.
Greg Lewis, of Age UK, said: “We know that many older people will not go out once it is dark, and having lighter evenings would mean that more of them could spend more time out of their homes if they choose to do so.
“And given the significant recent rises in energy prices, reducing household energy bills is now a further consideration.”
Boost tourism by £3.5billion
MORE light means more time to enjoy everything Britain has to offer. The Tourism Alliance believes a switch to SDST could provide an annual boost of £3.5billion to the tourist industry, and create up to 80,000 new jobs.
Businesses would be inclined to stay open longer, with tourists and locals having more time to visit them.
A report from 2010 claimed people would gain 235 hours of post-work daylight each year.
Rebecca Harris, Conservative MP for Castle Point, Essex, put forward a bill on daylight saving in 2010, only for it to be scuppered in Parliament 18 months later.
She said: “The biggest uplift in the economy would come in tourism. They’ve been crying out for this for years.
"Not only does it extend the tourist season but it extends each business day.”
Saves lives and NHS money
PERHAPS the most compelling argument is the claim that putting the clocks forward could save lives.
Family safety charity RoSPA has been calling for the change for decades, pointing to the 1968-71 trial of year-round BST, which prevented around 2,500 deaths and serious injuries each year.
The experiment was abandoned amid press reports focusing on the child victims of traffic accidents during the darker mornings.
But closer analysis of the trial later showed 11 per cent fewer fatalities and serious injuries overall in England and Wales and 17 per cent fewer in Scotland.
A government report in 2009 estimated moving to SDST would save about 80 lives a year, and save the NHS around £138million.
RoSPA’s Kevin Clinton said it would help children “vulnerable during the afternoon school run”.
A reduction in crime levels
MORE than half of criminal offences take place in the hours of darkness, according to the British Crime Survey. It is argued that lighter evenings could therefore reduce crime.
For more vulnerable people, it could help curb their fear of being a victim of crime and make them less reluctant to go out on dark evenings.
Assaults are significantly more common in the evening than in the morning.
For example, between 7pm and 11pm there are three times as many assaults in London as between 7am and 11am.
Vehicle theft and burglary are also more prevalent in the dark, not least because the chances of a criminal getting caught are less than in daylight.
The Police Federation is in favour of a move to SDST.
UK businesses in sync with Europe
FOR years, opponents of moving the clocks on an hour have accused supporters of trying to bring us further in line with the EU by stealth.
It is true that the change would put the UK in sync with Central European Time, meaning London would work the same business hours as the rest of Europe.
But as we work to establish ourselves as a strong trading partner outside the EU post-Brexit, this can only be a good thing.
We would be trading the same hours as our European partners, while businesses that work internationally would be able to cut down on staff overtime costs.
The move would also give the UK an extra hour of overlap with Beijing, Tokyo and other major import and export markets in Asia.
Modern farmers back change too
ANOTHER line often trotted out in opposition to daylight saving is that it would mean farmers working late into the evening.
Modern lighting and technology has made that argument outdated, with the latest farming practices meaning few tasks have to be carried out by hand during winter darkness.
Even the National Farmers’ Union has said it would be open to a change if it benefited Britain as a whole. When it tested opinion among members, there was a narrow majority in favour of lighter evenings.
Many farmers have diversified into tourism, meaning they see the benefits of SDST.
Tory MP Rebecca said: “Farming has changed so much in the last 40 years that many farmers stand to benefit. The opposition is not there any more.”
So now we just need to convince Scotland
WHILE business leaders, safety campaigners and conservationists support a move to SDST, Scottish politicians are not convinced.
It was a group of ten Scottish MPs who blocked Rebecca Harris’s 2012 bill by speaking until it ran out of Parliamentary time, despite majority backing in the Commons.
With parts of Scotland not likely to get light until 9.30am under SDST, these opponents believe it would make Scotland’s roads more dangerous and negatively impact Scottish farmers.
But Rebecca argues this is nonsense, saying: “There are persistent myths about the impact of daylight saving in Scotland which simply don’t stand up to scrutiny. In fact, when I was researching my bill I found a lot of support among Scottish people.”
NFU Scotland is no longer opposed to the change, saying it would welcome detailed studies to measure the likely effects. Opinion polls in 2012 showed 53 per cent of Scots backed a move to SDST.
But some politicians remain vehemently opposed.
Former SNP leader Alex Salmond once called the campaign an attempt to “plunge Scotland into morning darkness”. The SNP’s Western Isles MP, Angus MacNeil, called it “lunacy.”
But with only five million of the UK’s 65million population living in Scotland, opposition is limited.
