By Philippa Silverman - 1st July 2011
Scotland and Wales should be able to choose their own time zones, peers have heard.
Crossbencher peer Lord Tanlaw said the proposals would allow for England, Scotland and Wales to choose the time "best suited to the needs and geographical co-ordinates of their local electorate".
Lord Tanlaw, an astronomer, has previously called for the UK to move to Central European Time (CET), one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time in the winter and two hours ahead in the summer.
Introducing his Devolution (Time) Bill to the upper chamber, Lord Tanlaw said that Holyrood and the Welsh Assembly should have the "right to choose" .
He told peers: "In northern latitudes there will always be many hours of darkness in winter months during the working day due to celestial mechanics over which we have no control."
Lord Tanlaw said that, as demonstrated in the Commons, a "political solution" cannot increase the hours of winter daylight, they can only "adjust to them to a timescale best suited to a local community and its geographical co-ordinates".
Former foreign secretary Lord Howe of Aberavon said he supported the move to CET but highlighted that having separate time zones within the UK could lead to problems.
"I would be prepared to concede your case if I was confident that, by so doing, it won your central case," he said.
"I could not myself find much happiness in having to change my time zone every time I crossed the Severn Bridge."
Lib Dem peer Lord Addington said that the practicality of a "comparatively small area" having separate time zones is an "irritation" that is not needed.
Lord Anderson of Swansea told peers there was "no interest" amongst the Welsh to have a different time zone.
He added: "I am sure that there will be no attempt to make a choice, even by those who look for every possible opportunity to find differences between Wales and England."
Former Tory chancellor Lord Lawson provided his "strongest possible support" to the measures, and described the bill as an "excellent" piece of legislation.
Fellow conservative peer Tory Lord Fraser said the chamber should give the Bill a "fair wind".
Baroness Wilcox said the government "does not support the devolution of responsibility for time" to Scotland and Wales and the possibility of different time zones operating within Great Britain.
She told peers: "The crux of the matter is quite simply this: we are too small a nation to have within the British Isles more than one time zone.
"There are obvious practical difficulties of having separate time zones for both Wales and Scotland; transactions between Scotland and England and Wales and England would take on an unwanted complexity which is unnecessary for a country so small in size.
"Were the three countries to end up on different time zones, the level of disruption this would cause should not be underestimated.
"Those who live on the borders of both Wales and Scotland would be significantly disrupted if commuting between one country and another on a daily basis, and implications for travel in general should not be considered lightly."
The Bill received an unopposed second reading but without government support will not become law.
An attempt to change to CET is currently going through the Commons, led by Conservative MP Rebecca Harris.
The Daylight Saving Billwould require the government to conduct a cross-departmental analysis of the potential costs and benefits of advancing time by one hour for all, or part of, the year.
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