Summertime

A Private Members Bill is currently before Parliament proposing to switch England on to European time. The effect would be that more of the daylight would be used than at present. Although we would get up in the dark in the winter, we would come home in the light. It is estimated that such a change might save us 1.5% of our energy bill.

This has been proposed before (by a Bournemouth MP, Sir John Butterfill) but has always been talked out by Scottish members as they would be worst affected - getting up in the dark and coming home in the dark. Come to think of it Scotland is mostly in the dark in the winter. One of the benefits of devolution is that the Scottish Parliament can decide for themselves whether they want to go along with it without affecting what we do in England.

Britain would then be like America - different parts of the country in different time zones.

Back in 1840 everybody told the time according to the sun, so much so that railway timetable when they were introduced had to specify that Reading time was 4 minutes behind London time and three and a half minutes ahead of Chippenham time. Greenwich Mean Time was introduced in 1880 and rapidly spread throughout the civilized world as a reference point. Only France held out, finally giving in in 1916, eight years after Britain had introduced daylight Saving Time for the summer. Even then GMT was too much for the French they called it Paris Mean Time retarded by 9 minutes and 21 seconds.

I looked up the debate in Hansard and it looks as though the Scotttish member are doing their best to talk it out again. If they succeed it will have ominous repercussions for the West Lothian Question. The debate resumes on February 2nd.