Berlin Time? - December 2010

Notwithstanding the financial crisis sweeping through the Euro zone and our £7 billion loan to Ireland; or the weather and travel chaos, overwhelmingly the majority of my emails and letters last week were about the private members bill on ‘double summer time’.

Essentially all the bill does is require the Government to consult on the question of abandoning GMT and keep us an hour ahead of British Summer Time throughout the year. Frankly I have been unable to get excited about it. I can see the advantages of lighter evenings but it does mean getting up in the dark. Everyone north of Manchester would not see sunrise till after 9 AM from November to March.

We did experiment with this from 1968-70 and when Parliament voted emphatically to end the experiment it was by 380 votes to 66. I accept, however, that times and habits have changed since then.

Unfortunately my correspondents are split down the middle on the issue. Some even think it is another EU ploy to diminish our status and put us on “Berlin Time”. Thus far I have been content to abstain.