Time for a change – the case for a great leap forward

According to those behind the Lighter Later 10:10 campaign, shifting the big hand of all clocks forward by one hour would, if not quite save the world, come pretty close to it.

It's the latest in a long line of attempts to persuade the powers that be that shifting to Greenwich Mean Time plus one hour in the winter and plus two in the summer is common sense, and having won the backing of both the Labour and Conservative parties, it looks like it might actually make it to the final hurdle.

Certainly the campaigners are armed with a persuasive list of

arguments.

Making the time of sunrise and sunset an hour later throughout the year would, they say, help the country meet carbon emission targets. By maximising daylight, demand on power supplies would be reduced and the group has worked out the country would save almost 500,000 tonnes of CO2 each year, equivalent to taking 185,000 cars off the road permanently.

They also claim it would prevent 100 fatal accidents and mean a massive reduction in other casualties, which would allow the NHS to claw back 138m each year.

For those still not convinced, the group adds that longer daylight hours in the evening would result in lower electricity bills and would create between 60,000 and 80,000 new jobs in leisure and tourism, bringing an extra 2.5bn to 3.5bn into the economy each year.

Some of the arguments are less rooted in statistics. The morbidly obese would have more time to exercise and play sport outdoors, crime rates and the fear of crime would fall. In short, they say, a simple shift of time would make us all healthier and happier.

"We commissioned research into a whole host of policy measures through which government could rapidly and painlessly reduce UK emissions," says Daniel Vockins, manager of the 10:10 campaign which is aiming for a 10 per cent cut in carbon emissions in 2010.

"Reforming daylight savings hours came out top because of its substantial energy savings and a whole host of other benefits.

"Essentially, an extra hour of daylight in the evening saves energy because people end up using artificial light for a smaller proportion of the day."

With internet groups mobilised in support of the campaign, it has more chance of succeeding where other attempts have failed.

From 1968 to 1971, the Government ran an experiment to see what would happen if the clock change was dropped altogether.

Over the period, road deaths fell by three per cent – more than double that in Scotland – but the trial was overshadowed by the introduction of new drink-driving laws and disappeared without a trace.

However, with even the National Farmers' Union, once staunch opponents of any change, recently announcing it is not against the move in principle, the doors may finally have been wedged open.

"We all spend the first few months of the year counting down the weeks until the clocks change because having more daylight just makes everyone happier," adds Mr Vockins.

"The main reason it hasn't worked in the past because there's never been a popular movement behind it. That's something that 10:10 is hoping to bring about.

"We are for the first time pulling together all the different arguments for daylight saving from road safety to energy to quality of life for older people.

"It's our job now to show that dealing with climate change can be good for the economy, good for people and good for society as a whole."