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Topic: From today's Mail on Sunday
Posted by: Lucille Grant
Date/Time: 21/11/10 11:27:00

No, I’m not a barbecue-obsessed EU-plotting Southerner...this could benefit us all

ALTERNATIVE VIEW By REBECCA HARRIS The MP behind the Bill

I am campaigning for a thorough review and a national debate on a measure which substantial evidence suggests would save lives, pump billions into our economy, create thousands of jobs and give everyone an extra hour of light at the end of the day when we are most able to enjoy it.

I have been deluged by supportive letters from all over Britain, including Scotland and Northern Ireland – people exasperated by the politicians’ refusal to see the benefits of this idea.

However, I know the campaign has its opponents. I’ve been accused of being a ‘barbecue-obsessed Southerner’, intent on plunging Scotland into darkness and endangering school children.
Berlin Time

It has even been suggested, God forbid, that I am part of an EU plot to take us on to ‘Berlin Time’. Amusing, but far-fetched! This is about Britain, not Europe.

The arguments in favour of a change are considerable. Road safety organisations say it is more important to increase daylight in the far more dangerous afternoon rush hour than on winter mornings.

Surprisingly, this is especially true in Scotland. It would prevent 80 road deaths and hundreds of serious injuries a year, many of them children.

The tourism industry also supports change. It would lengthen the summer season and extend opening hours all year, creating as many as 80,000 jobs. In the current economic climate this is exactly what we need.

We might also be healthier with an extra hour of light after work or school. Hundreds of sports organisations back this, including the Lawn Tennis Association and the FA, for its potential to boost participation in sport – it might even improve our national teams.

Using daylight more effectively could cut fuel bills. Fewer hours of evening darkness might cut crime and many older people would feel safer out later.

I acknowledge there are arguments against the change. Many people have a real aversion to the darker mornings it would cause in mid-winter. It remains to be seen if this could be balanced against the potential advantages.

The question is whether our staying on GMT in winter and ahead of it by an hour in summer still suits the routines of our modern lives, as opposed to those of the 19th Century.

So let’s test the evidence. Government should research whether we would be better or worse off as a nation, by moving our clocks ahead one hour. And, most importantly, only if it could benefit the entire country would we try it. That is what my Private Member’s Bill seeks to do.





Entire Thread
TopicDate PostedPosted By
Lighter Later  - Clocks20/11/10 23:22:00 Ian Scott
   Re:Lighter Later  - Clocks21/11/10 08:49:00 Lucille Grant
      Re:Re:Lighter Later  - Clocks21/11/10 11:22:00 Leslie McDonnell
   From today's Mail on Sunday21/11/10 11:27:00 Lucille Grant
      Re:From today's Mail on Sunday21/11/10 17:28:00 Ian Scott
         Re:Re:From today's Mail on Sunday21/11/10 19:15:00 Lucille Grant
            Re:Re:Re:From today's Mail on Sunday21/11/10 21:09:00 Jonathan Callaway

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