Latest news with #ChurchillTime
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Do we still need daylight saving time? Yahoo readers have their say
Yahoo UK's poll of the week lets you vote and indicate your strength of feeling on one of the week's hot topics. After the poll closes, we'll publish and analyse the results each Friday, giving readers the chance to see how polarising a topic has become and if their view chimes with other Yahoo UK readers. Calls for Britain to learn 'wartime lessons' by moving the clocks forward by two hours during the summer months were rejected by the government this week. Labour MP Alex Mayer pressed the case for double British Summer Time (BST), dubbed 'Churchill Time', as a way of reducing energy usage, improving mental health and potentially reducing road accidents. Business minister Justin Madders acknowledged there are 'a number of benefits' to the proposal, which was adopted during the Second World War, but said the existing daylight saving approach provides 'optimal use of the available daylight across the UK'. It comes as clocks will go forward one hour on Sunday to provide more daylight in the evenings during what is known as British Summer Time. They then go back one hour at 2am on the last Sunday in October, with the next change due on 26 October. Daylight saving takes place in about 70 countries around the world, with its merits hotly contested. British Summer Time started in 1916, during the depths of the First World War, a month after Germany brought in daylight saving measures to reduce its industrial demand for coal. After the war, the move became permanent and since then the UK has changed its clocks to reflect the desire to have lighter evenings in the summer months for citizens to enjoy their leisure. However, there have been repeated calls to scrap it. Some have argued the twice-yearly clock changes harms the nation's sleep patterns. Others say scrapping it would boost tourism, cut the number of roads accidents and reduce energy use. In our poll earlier this week, Yahoo News UK asked readers if we still need daylight saving hours in the UK. It received 1,988 votes and showed 70% think not. The poll's Have Your Say feature attracted some passionate comments, such as from Elizabeth T, from County Durham, who said: "No we do not [still need daylight saving]. My concern is in the autumn when children are walking home tired after a busy school day and schools finish at a time when the light is fading. Likely there will be more accidents." Similarly Pete J, from Lancashire, said: "Since the actual number of daylight hours is unaffected by changing the clocks, I feel that in winter shunting the daylight period towards the evening is advantageous - giving the impression that the day is longer. Therefore I think that British Summer Time should be adopted for the whole year and renamed British Standard Time." "Shunting the daylight period towards the evening in winter is advantageous" On the other hand, Ron O, from Huddersfield, said: "Leave things as they are. [Without daylight saving] in winter it will be darker for longer in the morning while people are going about their daily business." He suggested there would be an increase in road accidents and pedestrian casualties. But Barabar T, from Mold, said: "I have a very strong body clock which runs on GMT all year round, as does my dogs. I find it far too disruptive to my body system and it can make me feel quite unwell." Yahoo News UK readers were also asked, on a scale of one to 10, how much extra daylight in the evenings affects their happiness... This poll received 927 votes with the most common vote being 10 (316, making up 34% of votes cast) and an average strength-of-feeling score of 8.41, showing most readers will welcome the longer evenings once the clocks move forward this weekend. Read more of Yahoo UK's Poll of the Week articles
The Independent
27-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Minister rejects call for Britain to adopt ‘Churchill Time' in the summer
Calls for Britain to learn 'wartime lessons' by moving the clocks forward by two hours during the summer months have been rejected by the Government. Labour MP Alex Mayer pressed the case for double British Summer Time (BST), dubbed 'Churchill Time', as a way of reducing energy usage, improving mental health and potentially reducing road accidents. Business minister Justin Madders acknowledged there are 'a number of benefits' to the proposal, which was adopted during the Second World War, but said the Government believes the existing approach provides the 'optimal use of the available daylight across the UK'. Clocks go forward one hour at 1am on the last Sunday in March to provide more daylight in the evenings during what is known as British Summer Time, with the change taking place this year on March 30. They then go back one hour at 2am on the last Sunday in October, with the next change due on October 26. Ms Mayer, the MP for Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard, noted BST was established during the First World War in 1916, before she highlighted the 'experiment' of double British Summer Time during the next global conflict. She told the House of Commons: 'As Britain faced peril, Winston Churchill took the decision to move the clocks two hours in advance of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) in the summer and one hour in advance of GMT during the winter months. 'Why? To save energy. The crisis at the time meant that bold ideas were required. 'We needed to think outside the box. Today we face a different emergency – the climate crisis – but one where the same prescription could really help. I believe we should learn the lessons of wartime Britain and move to double summertime.' Ms Mayer said such a change could help reduce emissions by 'making better use of the daylight that we have', adding: 'By choosing Churchill Time, we can reduce our energy use and lower our carbon footprint. 'When it's lighter in the evenings, households and businesses switch on the lights and heating later. That small shift spread across millions of homes adds up to a significant difference.' Ms Mayer added changing to lighter evenings 'can prevent hundreds of accidents and injuries every year' on the roads. She went on: 'And sunshine cheers us up. The NHS says that a lack of sunlight may lead to lower serotonin levels, which is linked to feelings of depression, but getting outside has got many mood-boosting benefits.' Replying to the adjournment debate, Mr Madders said: 'The Government believes the current daylight savings arrangement represent the optimal use of the available daylight across the UK and changing the current arrangements would impact all citizens in the UK and Northern Ireland, and would require public consultation and an assessment on the impact on businesses across all sectors of the economy.' He said moving to double British summer time would result in darker mornings in the winter and he cast doubt on the impact of the proposed change on reducing road accidents and energy usage. Mr Madders went on: 'Moving to double British summer time would also create a time border between Ireland and Northern Ireland in a scenario where Ireland maintained its current approach to time. 'This non-alignment could cause problems for transport, particularly aviation, the tourism trade and business in general with higher impacts if there was only a part-year alignment.' Mr Madders said the north of Scotland would have 'no daylight in the winter before 10am' under double British summer time, adding: 'While in the rest of Scotland sunrise would be at 9am, so children in Scotland would travel to and from school in darkness.'
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Minister rejects call for Britain to adopt ‘Churchill Time' in the summer
Calls for Britain to learn 'wartime lessons' by moving the clocks forward by two hours during the summer months have been rejected by the Government. Labour MP Alex Mayer pressed the case for double British Summer Time (BST), dubbed 'Churchill Time', as a way of reducing energy usage, improving mental health and potentially reducing road accidents. Business minister Justin Madders acknowledged there are 'a number of benefits' to the proposal, which was adopted during the Second World War, but said the Government believes the existing approach provides the 'optimal use of the available daylight across the UK'. Clocks go forward one hour at 1am on the last Sunday in March to provide more daylight in the evenings during what is known as British Summer Time, with the change taking place this year on March 30. They then go back one hour at 2am on the last Sunday in October, with the next change due on October 26. Ms Mayer, the MP for Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard, noted BST was established during the First World War in 1916, before she highlighted the 'experiment' of double British Summer Time during the next global conflict. She told the House of Commons: 'As Britain faced peril, Winston Churchill took the decision to move the clocks two hours in advance of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) in the summer and one hour in advance of GMT during the winter months. 'Why? To save energy. The crisis at the time meant that bold ideas were required. 'We needed to think outside the box. Today we face a different emergency – the climate crisis – but one where the same prescription could really help. I believe we should learn the lessons of wartime Britain and move to double summertime.' Ms Mayer said such a change could help reduce emissions by 'making better use of the daylight that we have', adding: 'By choosing Churchill Time, we can reduce our energy use and lower our carbon footprint. 'When it's lighter in the evenings, households and businesses switch on the lights and heating later. That small shift spread across millions of homes adds up to a significant difference.' Ms Mayer added changing to lighter evenings 'can prevent hundreds of accidents and injuries every year' on the roads. She went on: 'And sunshine cheers us up. The NHS says that a lack of sunlight may lead to lower serotonin levels, which is linked to feelings of depression, but getting outside has got many mood-boosting benefits.' Replying to the adjournment debate, Mr Madders said: 'The Government believes the current daylight savings arrangement represent the optimal use of the available daylight across the UK and changing the current arrangements would impact all citizens in the UK and Northern Ireland, and would require public consultation and an assessment on the impact on businesses across all sectors of the economy.' He said moving to double British summer time would result in darker mornings in the winter and he cast doubt on the impact of the proposed change on reducing road accidents and energy usage. Mr Madders went on: 'Moving to double British summer time would also create a time border between Ireland and Northern Ireland in a scenario where Ireland maintained its current approach to time. 'This non-alignment could cause problems for transport, particularly aviation, the tourism trade and business in general with higher impacts if there was only a part-year alignment.' Mr Madders said the north of Scotland would have 'no daylight in the winter before 10am' under double British summer time, adding: 'While in the rest of Scotland sunrise would be at 9am, so children in Scotland would travel to and from school in darkness.'
