Tick tock,tick tock,the hours up/or maybe not

As always around this time of year we have the debate about our clocks and this year the Spectator seems to have hit the spot.

Its front page this week carries the headline Hours of surrender,written by Peter Hitchens in which he lambasts Tory MP Rebecca Harris, whom he calls one of those homogenised, UHT female Tory MPs.

The reason for his vehement is that

She wishes us all to live an hour further forward than we already do, getting up in the dark for most of the winter, and watching Newsnight in summer while it is still light outside

Yes she wants us to join out European cousins in Central European time,thus condemning those of us in the North to dark mornings

The campaign is called ‘Lighter Later’ and the government has just out out a press release saying that they will back a daylight saving bill provided that it takes into account the wishes of those in Scotland and presumably the North of England.

The arguments have been debated over many years. People treasure the extra hour of daylight in the afternoon and the evening because they work later hours, exercise in the evenings or need to complete outdoor household chores as well as giving children more time to interact with a parent who works or studies during the day.

There is also an argument for daylight saving time as a means of conserving energy as the demand for electricity and gas increases in the evening.
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Changing the clocks to give an hour of extra sunlight in evening could also reap in in extra cash from tourists.

Proponents of the Bill claim Daylight Saving could create up to 80,000 new jobs, bringing an extra £3.5 billion into the economy each year.

On the negative side,the dark mornings lead to safety fears especially for school children waiting for a bus in some areas.

Farming groups have also expressed anti-daylight saving views, saying that daylight saving time had a significant adverse impact on rural families, businesses, and communities.

The bill appeared dead last year when the government refused to support it but today's announcement seems to put it back on the agenda.

According to Hitchens,it is said that the Prime Minister sees the measure as a sort of Christmas present to Nick Clegg.

If implemented clocks would move forward two hours in the summer, opposed to a single hour as is the case with the current system.

Proponents of the Bill claim Daylight Saving could create up to 80,000 new jobs, bringing an extra £3.5 billion into the economy each year.