[Closed] Which of you knew there was a public consultation on Daylight savings time ?

I knew about, and took part in the survey but I live in France. I suspect this was largely ignored in the UK because of that other legislative change that's been keeping the UK/EU busy that would also mean it wouldn't be an issue (or at least no more or less than all the other directives we'd have to choose to keep or change).

I’ve been kept in the dark about this.

It was all over the newspapers in Spain.

I’ve been kept in the dark about this.

The aptly named OP is here to shine some light on the subject, I'm sure.

I wondered why I hadn't heard about this and then it dawned on me.

I wonder if it is beginning to dawn on people what they are missing out on?

(Did not see it in Sweden, but then I didn't really make a point of searching for it and don' watch TV)

I set my alarm so as to register my vote - but missed it.

I knew about it, typically this government are so far up thier own arses to actually notify anyone in the UK.

Typical.

And didn’t the last time it was mooted, all the returns were only from Old Folks Homes and Hospitals and the services??

Typical.

News to me 🤔🤔

But the percentage of respondents was amazing according to the radio

UK 0.02%
Germany 80%

However well meaning it is really an anti-EU own goal at the moment
"Brussels Steals Greenwich Mean Time"

Just checked some numbers from the site linked there of a sample of 40000 results shows that in that one file there were 33114 responses from Germany and 73 from the UK !

I replied to it.

There's an hour of my life I won't get back.

Didn’t know about it. Wish we could get rid of it though.

would be much better to stay on summer time all year round

I knew about it, but didn't respond because I'm fairly ambivalent about it to be honest... are we still allowed to be ambivalent about anything political these days? 🙂

Yup knew about it didn't bother to respond. It simply means each EU state can choose to stick with the daylight savings time or scrap it.

would be much better to stay on summer time all year round

Yeah... it’d be great if it was still dark at 10 in the morning in the middle of winter. ☹️

would be much better to stay on summer time all year round

+1.

Or GMT+2 in summer, and BST in winter.

Yeah… it’d be great if it was still dark at 10 in the morning in the middle of winter.

It makes not the slightest difference how you fiddle with the clocks - there are still only 7-8 hours of daylight in the middle of winter. Leave for work in the dark, get home in the dark. Play around with the clocks twice a year to satisfy those who still think the blitz is on.

Or GMT+2 in summer, and BST in winter.

And light until 1-00am in summer, sounds brilliant!

I’m surprised this consultation ever saw the light of day.

Nope, never heard of it...

Yep, it's been in the papers over the last year or so discussing this.

I'd guess the reason there has been no UK publicity is because HMG expects us to be out of the EU hence it would be irrelevant to the UK.

Yep, it’s been in the papers over the last year or so discussing this.

But nobody reads newspapers anymore.

But nobody reads newspapers anymore.

Except all of those who do e.g. The Guardian website has 7 million visits per day....

I had no idea about the poll. I wish they'd stick with either GMT or BST and not change them.

Hmm, GMT +2 in the summer and BST in the winter? Let's see, that's CET isn't it?

I believe that the Daily Mail are keen on this which is rather ironic.

there are still only 7-8 hours of daylight in the middle of winter.

Or less than 6 in some places.

Latitude matters.

Clearly Perchy is one of the half dozen farmers and folk that live in the extreme north (anything above Manchester) that still takes issue with this.

Latitude matters

It does.
It also depends who's headlining 😉

It’s cause I don’t have a window in my office.

Five months of darkness every year.

I really should change that lightbulb.

Or less than 6 in some places.
Latitude matters.

😀 When I said 7-8 hours, I was looking at Aberdeen's figures for December, so you really are talking a long way north? Fwiw, even here in South Wales it feels like only 6 hours daylight in mid-winter, but that's weather not darkness!

Svalbard innit.

Or Lerwick.

Try the Shetland islands (Scalloway) for lack of daylight in winter, but the simmer makes up for it.

I'm not too bothered when it is I just would rather it didn't change, takes me a good fortnight to readjust each time.

But the percentage of respondents was amazing according to the radio

UK 0.02%
Germany 80%

I think the fact is that 80% of Germans who responded wanted the change done away with.

I read in a French paper, in a poll 84% said they would like to see the back of it.

Seems like a backward step on the face of it

takes me a good fortnight to readjust each time.

Ay?

It takes my body/head a good fortnight to adjust to the new time. I.E. I'm knackered and out of sync. Not a fortnight to adjust my clocks.

i thought the decision had already been made.  Runs off to check

edit: Looks like the vote was to scrap it but we still get to choose which time we stick on

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/04/meps-vote-to-scrap-switch-from-summer-to-winter-time

It simply means each EU state can choose to stick with the daylight savings time or scrap it.

That's what I read, and initially I thought it mean each state could choose to keep changing the clocks, or keep them them the same all year - but it actually means each state can choose whether to be on all year winter time or all year summer time, ie, decide which time zone to be in - and nobody in the EU will change between winter and summer.

Whether we're still in the EU by then or not, I think the UK will end up following suit - but will we choose GMT or BST?

The rest of the world is looking at this as well, not just Europe. All the swapping around causes all sorts of international confusion… that's the prompt for this… nothing to do with local inconveniences.

will we choose GMT or BST?

BST please (but then I'm south of the border).

https://www.timeanddate.com/time/australia/time-zones-background.html

can we please just stick to one system and set of dates please!! I thought I was done with all this!!

Whether we’re still in the EU by then or not, I think the UK will end up following suit – but will we choose GMT or BST?

Agree and I also hope it's BST. BST would be life changing for me in a positive way, dozens more post work evenings of useable outdoor life. GMT would be catastrophic, outside of mid-summer evenings would be spent largely doing unhealthy boring inside stuff.

Hmm, GMT +2 in the summer and BST in the winter? Let’s see, that’s CET isn’t it?

That's just another advantage AFAIC. It's nice at the moment on weekends in Mainland Europe to get a free hour on the way out but that comes at the expense of losing an hours usable outside time every working day of my life.

When Scotland is independent, we'll have Scottish Summer Time all year round.

It'll be wonderful! Nearly 24 hours of daylight all year round and perpetual sunshine.

Sounds great.

That's how it works isn't it? 🙂

Pardon me for asking but what the hell has one countries times got to do with anothers anyway? Now I can see an element of sense in not being a million miles out if there is business to be done but surely the numbers on a clock mean sod all? We some how strangely manage to communicate with Australia don't we? I still go to work as its gets light in March. If the clock says 6 or 11 does it matter? Nope.
Practically speaking I would like to move the clocks a long way in the winter so that it was still light at 7 or 8pm. Its either dark or damn close when the world starts to move anyway, in the winter, at the moment. Kids are in school and few of them actually toddle off down unlit country lanes by themselves to get there. Most people work inside and those who don't have enough sense to ignore the clock and work when its light. Can't see real problems for most people if it was still dark until 10am.

We some how strangely manage to communicate with Australia don’t we?

See my link on time zones in Oz.... various combo's of DLS on and off and at different times, then add in the UK/EU swaps seriously we managed to get people calling in for meetings a coupe of hours out during the fun fuzzy period. Getting out of sync is really quite annoying

I lived in Glasgow during the winter where they didn't change the clocks. It didn't get light until after 10 am - so dark on the way to school for many weeks - but was still dark on the way home as well.
Personally I prefer it the way it is right now

Most people work inside and those who don’t have enough sense to ignore the clock and work when its light. Can’t see real problems for most people if it was still dark until 10am.

Some of us work alternating shifts 07.00-16.00 or 10.00-19.00, outdoors, so during the winter we’re working literally in the dark! I carry several torches, because batteries run down quickly.
So whichever way it goes it’s largely irrelevant to me and the people I work with.

those who don’t have enough sense to ignore the clock and work when its light.

Eh? What bubble do you live in

The best solution is to put the clocks forward every day. About 3pm would be good. Then put them back again 12 hours later to maintain a 24 hour day.

I lived in Glasgow during the winter where they didn’t change the clocks. It didn’t get light until after 10 am – so dark on the way to school for many weeks – but was still dark on the way home as well.
Personally I prefer it the way it is right now

And conversely during the summer sunrise is around half 4 and sunset about half 9. Sticking to GMT would have that as half 3 mornings and half 8 evenings. My, that's not arse backward is it?

X2 on status quo.

The problem is really forcing a static schedule - open and close shop/school/whatever at a specific time - with varying hours of daylight. If you work in an office then it doesn't really matter what state of light/dark it is. The modern world is fixated on a 9-5 working day (or slight variants thereof) so there's pressure to be open/available during those hours to synchronise with everyone else. There's only a problem if you want to do something outdoors outside office hours: go for a bike ride, run, etc, in daylight.

You might argue that someone like a dairy farmer could milk his cows at any time but the regimen of time intrudes here as well as the milk tanker will arrive at a specific time or time slot so the milking has to be done by then.

@Drac - I work outdoors dry stone walling, the only time constraint I have is if I need to get to a builder's supply for anything but that's somewhat irregular. Generally though there aren't going to be many people in my position.

One of the traditional arguments for DST was the reduction in accidents, particularly in the mornings, but I'm not sure that still holds. When I worked in an office there was one junction near home where for a week or so in spring and autumn at "morning commute time" the sun would sit just on the horizon obscuring a long, fast, straight road. Really worrying pulling out.

The modern world is fixated on a 9-5 working day (or slight variants thereof) so there’s pressure to be open/available during those hours to synchronise with everyone else.

Apart from it ranging from starting from 6-10am.startd between people I know depending on industry and preference.
On top of that it's quite nice to actually know people will be available during a general day time slot.

Sigh - do you deliberately miss the point? It also helps if you read what's being written, understanding same would be an advantage.

Easiest way around this is to have GMT + and -BST, so add only 30 minutes in March or lose 30 minutes in October, job done.

The rest of the world is looking at this as well, not just Europe. All the swapping around causes all sorts of international confusion

Hardly confusing is it? that's just a BS excuse those people whom for some reason this is a burning issue for trot out to justify it being discussed at all. I mean the way all our computers, digital watches, mobile phones, in-car clocks, central heating system timers, electronic diaries etc all automatically switch between the times is very confusing and a real burden!! I wonder how they all managed back in the day before all this technology wiped our backsides for us and we had to go around manually changing clocks, re-scheduling meetings and appointments trying desperately to remember the little rhyme to remind us whether we were losing or gaining an hour etc.!!

I really can't get too excited about this issue and flummoxed as to why its an issue at all...either have your extra daylight in the morning or the evening in winter.....you decide...some people are early birds and prefer it in the morning, some are evening dwellers and prefer it in the evening...oh no not another issue to divide the nation! It's irrelevant anyway because once you're into winter the days are so short you're leaving for work in the dark and coming home in the dark anyway, so nobody's getting the benefit so utterly irrelevant. Just stick us on GMT and leave it at that as far as i'm concerned.

I would have thought that given the majority of contributers on this forum are cyclists there would be a bit more of a concensus for 'saving the daylight hours' especially for those commuting by bike. Is the central europe driven agenda because they generally have better more consistent weather (summer anyway) and are less affected by latitude. I was brought up in Scotland and in the winter walked/cycled to and from school in the dark whilst in the summer holidays we were still playing outside at 10:30pm.

Practically speaking I would like to move the clocks a long way in the winter so that it was still light at 7 or 8pm. Its either dark or damn close when the world starts to move anyway, in the winter, at the moment. Kids are in school and few of them actually toddle off down unlit country lanes by themselves to get there. Most people work inside and those who don’t have enough sense to ignore the clock and work when its light. Can’t see real problems for most people if it was still dark until 10am.

west coast scotland it wouldn't be light until the afternoons

I hate daylight saving time - stay on summer time all year round for me. I just love having a few hours of daylight in the evenings to do fun things. Couldn't care less about commuting in the dark in the mornings.

If we move to permanent summer time, does GMT cease to exist? That's something for certain brexiteers to froth about.