The clocks go back an hour tonight, but why?!

Clock | Hillingdon Today

Sunday morning at 2am, the clocks go back, something we are all used to. The saying “spring forward and fall (autumn) back” is a well-known saying in many countries around the world.

But, how did it all start and why?

British Summer time was the result of a parliamentary act, namely the ‘Summer Time Act’, back in 1916 following a campaign from a Kent builder, William Willett. His original proposal was to move the clocks forward by 80 minutes, doing so in twenty-minute increments on Sundays in April and by the reverse procedure in September.

Sadly, Willett never got see his idea implemented as he died in early 1915. There is a memorial sundial dedicated to him, which is always set on Daylight Saving Time, in his hometown of Petts Wood, Kent.

During the Second World War, the UK even adopted British Double Summer Time, which saw clocks being put forward two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). This ended in the summer of 1945, but because of severe fuel shortages resulting from a harsh winter, returned during the summer of 1947.

Currently, Belarus, Iceland, Russia and Turkey do not observe daylight savings.

How to people feel about it? The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) say on their website: “We know that the clock change kills people. In 2017, pedestrian deaths rose from 37 in September to 46 in October, 63 in November, and 50 in December. The casualty rate for all road users increased from 520 per billion vehicle miles in October to 580 per billion vehicle miles in November.

“RoSPA has previously called for Single/Double Summer Time, which would see the clock change retained, but move the country an hour ahead year-round. However, it’s estimated that even retaining British Summer Time (BST) all year would save at least 30 lives and prevent many more serious and minor injuries, each and every year.”

A YouGov poll taken in March 2015 suggested that 40% of the people surveyed would prefer an end to the practice of changing the clocks. That figure dropped in a more recent survey to 39%.

In 2018, the European Parliament voted to ask the European Commission to re-evaluate Daylight Saving in Europe, after a web survey, in which 4.6 million European citizens participated, showed high support for not switching clocks twice annually. It was then proposed in September of that year that an end be put to seasonal clock changes.

As of October 2020, the decision has not been confirmed by the Council of the European Union. The Council has asked the Commission to produce a detailed impact assessment, but considers that the onus is on the Member States to find a common position in Council.

Will it be scrapped? Time shall tell. But one thing is for certain, 2am Sunday morning, the clocks go back, so make sure you remember.