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Brit proposes jumping an hour ahead for brighter evenings

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published January 27, 2007

LONDON - With a single sweep of an hour hand, Britain could shift closer to its continental neighbors and illuminate the thick gloom of winter evenings, a former minister said Friday, outlining proposals to set the country's clocks in line with mainland Europe.

The proposal to switch to Central European Time, one hour ahead of current settings, aims to reduce road deaths, boost tourism and promote outdoor activities, former Environment Minister Tim Yeo said.

Regional legislatures in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland would be free to opt out of the system, however - raising the prospect that London could wake up with Paris, but not at the same time as Edinburgh, Cardiff or Belfast.

Yeo, an opposition Conservative lawmaker, said his plan was "a simple change which would benefit everyone by creating a safer and greener country."

To be put formally to Parliament, the plan needs government sponsorship, after filibustering legislators prevented a vote Friday.

Yeo argued Friday that for the price of an extra hour of darkness each morning, Britons would have "healthier lives with more social and recreational opportunities."

Though the Department of Trade and Industry said it had no plans to change timekeeping arrangements, municipal authorities have suggested they plan to press the government to examine the options.

Clocks in Britain go forward in the spring when daylight saving time takes effect and are turned back in the fall, and Yeo advocated standing by the practice.

David Rooney, curator of timekeeping at London's Royal Greenwich Observatory - the point where universal standard time is measured - said the proposed change comes exactly 100 years after lawmakers first put forward the idea of daylight saving in 1907.

Southern towns and cities traditionally bask in warmer weather than Britain's northern regions and enjoy more sunlight, meaning the effect of darker mornings would be felt most severely in northern England and Scotland.

"During the experiments, some areas of Scotland were in the dark until mid morning, so it seems certain the Scottish Parliament would not join England in changing time," Rooney said.

Scottish legislator Angus MacNeil said England had won a "latitude lottery" and already had a longer day than Scotland. It would be small-minded and unfair to impose on Scots a 9:30 a.m dawn, he said.

Lawmaker Charles Hendry told the debate separate time zones could "fragment the nation" and warned London's booming financial industry would be hit.

Fast Facts:

London time

If you want to know what time it is in London, just add five hours to the time here. If they switch to Central European Time, they would be six hours ahead.

[Last modified January 27, 2007, 00:34:12]