MOSCOW, September 16 (RIA Novosti) - The upcoming Scottish referendum this Thursday could bolster discussions on adopting Daylight Savings Time for good, The Telegraph reported Tuesday.
"Daylight Savings Time affects everything from Mid-East terrorism to the attendance at London music halls, voter turnout to street crime, gardening to the profits of radio stations," David Prerau, author of Saving the Daylight: Why We Put the Clocks Forward, said.
According to The Telegraph, lobbyists have long been pushing for Daylight Savings Time, also known as British Summer Time. This would mean sunlit evenings with bright mornings, with the UK time zone being aligned with that of continental Europe.
The move, however, would not be favorable to Scots, with Alex Salmond, the leader of the Scottish National Party and the Yes campaign for Scottish Independence, labeling the campaign as an attempt to "plunge Scotland into morning darkness", The Telegraph reported.
Scotland's concerns have none the less been justified since the sun does not rise in some parts of the independence-seeking country until 10 a.m., The Telegraph stated. This would have tortured around 1,000 Scotland's farmers, who start their day at 5 a.m., as well as other workers who would have ended up finishing their work much later than their counterparts anywhere else.
But now that the prospect of an independent Scotland looms large the rest of the United Kingdom could adopt the long-awaited Daylight Savings Time resulting in a number of advantages, energy conservation being one of them.
Energy conservation, according to The Telegraph, is the main reason for Britain's summer clocks being moved forward an hour, which dates from the Second World War when Britain changed its clocks to conserve electricity and increase working hours.
Referencing a report by the University of Cambridge, The Telegraph reported that consumers could save £485 million a year since people consume less electricity and energy in the daytime.
Another benefit would be Britain's alignment with Central European Time, leading London to work in parallel with Brussels, Paris, Frankfurt and Milan. This would help save costs businesses incur because of staff working overtime as well resolve some technicalities causing inconveniences for many, such as conferencing at different times.
Some other benefits of Daylight Savings Time in the UK are road safety – children sometimes have to attend school in the dark – a boost in tourism as lighter and longer winter evenings could grant an additional £3.5 to the tourist industry as well as enabling sports people and fans to exercise and attend sports events in daylight throughout the winter months.
