‘All of Britain must agree’ Tories hit back at calls for an END of putting clocks back

GETTY

Commons Leader David Lidington insisted “unity” across the nation is important

Tory former energy minister Sir Greg Knight renewed calls to end the “ridiculous ritual”, warning the nation will be plunged into “darkness and misery by mid-afternoon” once the clocks are changed this weekend.

But Commons Leader David Lidington insisted “unity” across the nation is important, adding the Government has no plans “at the moment” to change the law.

East Yorkshire MP Sir Greg is a keen supporter of proposals to ensure clocks run two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time during the summer – known as double summertime – and one hour ahead during winter.

• 

  Clocks going back to herald increase in crashes

• 

  Householders warned over spike in break-ins as clocks go back

Then-prime minister David Cameron suggested he was ready to consider the proposal in 2010.

People will need to put their clocks back overnight Saturday to Sunday.

Speaking in the Commons, Sir Greg told Mr Lidington: “Are you aware that in the next few days we are going to go through the ridiculous ritual of putting our clocks back, thereby plunging the nation into darkness and misery by mid-afternoon?

GETTY

BBC broadcaster Andrew Neil said that it was very unpopular in Scotland

Are you aware that in the next few days we are going to go through the ridiculous ritual of putting our clocks back

Sir Greg Knight

“Can we look again at the benefits of using summertime in winter? It’d reduce road accidents and it’d boost tourism.”

Mr Lidington replied: “You have, for many years, been a strong advocate of changes to the current arrangements for summertime.

“As you know, there was not agreement between different parts of the United Kingdom about the way forward.

GETTY

People will need to put their clocks back overnight Saturday to Sunday

“I do think on a subject like this the unity of the United Kingdom, respecting the interests of all parts of the United Kingdom, is a very important matter.

“The Government has no plans at the moment to bring forward changes in legislation.”

Labour MP Ian Mearns (Gateshead) said: “Residing and representing a constituency 55 degrees north of the equator, British summertime actually works for us so I hope there is no plan to change that.”

GETTY

Attempts to end putting the clocks back during winter are unlikely to succeed

An experiment was carried out in the late Sixties but was received with mixed reviews.

BBC broadcaster Andrew Neil said that it was very unpopular in Scotland.

It coincided with the introduction of the breathalyser so it is difficult to tell whether any reduction in road deaths was due to the experiment of the police breathalysing drivers.