Let there be light
The Prime Minister yesterday told tourism leaders in the Westcountry that a move to adopt European time was under review and could produce "real" benefits for the economy, estimated at £3.5 billion a year.
And the Western Morning News has learned that senior ministers have stepped up pressure to include the proposal in Labour's general election manifesto.
The tourism industry has previously argued the plan could net an extra £100 million a year in the Westcountry alone.
Mr Brown, speaking at a Cabinet event in Exeter, said the proposal was "worthy of consideration" and he had been "thinking carefully" about the switch.
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The PM's enthusiasm for the idea came after being quizzed by Angela Wright, from Crealy Adventure Park, one of three WMN readers to spend time with Mr Brown yesterday.
Ms Wright said the Prime Minister's qualified support was "great news", adding: "It would save a tonne of carbon, create 80,000 new full-time jobs, boost British tourism earnings by £3.5 billion and allow longer outdoor play for children, so tackling obesity.
"Most importantly, it would save more than 80 deaths and prevent more than 200 serious injuries on our roads."
Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw, the minister responsible for tourism, is a long-standing supporter of the idea. "It is an absolute no brainer," he said. "It is high time we moved on it."
Under the existing arrangements, around 35 per cent of the population is asleep when the sun rises on winter mornings, and therefore makes no use of the extra daylight.
The clocks would be put forward by an hour throughout the year, so the winter would be GMT+1 hour and the summer GMT+2.
It is said by shifting that 'extra' hour to the end of the day, outdoor activities and visitor attractions could become more popular.
Experts also argue the plan would improve road safety, cut obesity by giving children longer to play in the evenings, and reduce crime.
Mr Brown said he had been considering the idea on his trip to Afghanistan last December, where the time difference is split by half hours.
"We have got to keep this under review. I cannot give you a promise of a three-year trial but it is something I was actually thinking about very carefully just before I came here," he said.
"It is worthy of consideration. Different parts of the UK have different views on this issue as well.
"It is important that we recognise the different requirements in different parts of the country but I think the savings that you are talking about are potentially real."
Opposition from Scotland has softened in recent years, most notably the National Farmers' Union north of the border has given the idea its backing.
It has also been suggested that Scotland could have a different time zone from England and Wales.
One senior government source said: "Gordon faced down Scotland over the plan for voting reform, so there's no reason why he couldn't do it again."
The British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions has said the change is "an absolute must".
The Conservatives have previously said they wanted to find a "national consensus" on the issue.
Three years ago a YouGov survey found 54 per cent of the public supported a change in daylight hours.
Ian Johnson, spokesman for the NFU in the South West, dismissed as an "urban myth" the idea that farmers were against the switch to European time.
"It is not a big issue for farmers," he said. "I think there are as many farmers for it as there are against it."
Mr Johnson added that he was disappointed the Cabinet, and in particular Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Hilary Benn, came all the way to Exeter, but did not go into the countryside to speak to farmers.
He said a more important topic to farmers would have been Bovine TB.
"Farmers would far rather that the Cabinet discussed Bovine TB than tinkering about with the time," he said.
