British Summer Time should be extended

CURRENTLY we are enjoying light nights until late evening. However, British Summer Time (BST) is only for seven months, from late March until late October, when the clocks alter by one hour and it’s eventually dark by late afternoon – less time for outdoor activities, especially for children; increased traffic accidents; increased lighting costs for homes, businesses and street lighting; depression/seasonal affective disorder (SAD), etc.

Apparently, we alter our clocks mainly because northern Scotland would otherwise have problems with it being relatively dark for morning work/school times. I have nothing against the Scots, but the population of northern Scotland is less than 3% of the UK’s population.

Doing away with the five months of “British Winter Time” would benefit the majority of the UK – health-wise and cost-wise. The northern Scots would have to accommodate this by altering their work/school hours, the cost of which should be met by Westminster, from the much larger UK-wide savings.

As an interim/trial measure, BST could be extended to nine months and the situation reviewed after a reasonable period, with the aim of extending BST to 12 months. For the above proposal to stand a chance of being presented as a Private Member’s Bill/parliamentary petition, interested readers will need to lobby their MPs.