More people than not think it’s time to scrap the summer time change
On Sunday, the clocks will go forward one hour in the United Kingdom to what is called British Summer Time (BST), which creates more daylight in the evenings and less in the mornings. The practice, also known as daylight saving time (DST), has been around in some form since 1916. While it helps conserve energy and encourages activity later in the day, some see it as inconvenient and unnecessary.
New research from YouGov finds that those opposed to the twice-yearly time change outnumber those in favour by 40-33%. However, nearly a quarter of the public (23%) have no opinion either way and 4% are undecided.
Young people favour the status quo (keeping the change) much more than older Britons. In fact, while the majority of Over-60s would prefer to abandon the practice of changing the clocks, only 21% of 18-24 year olds feel the same way.
One explanation is that young people are more likely to own a smartphone that changes the time automatically, minimising inconvenience.
British people have shown more interest in another, related reform. In 2011, 53% said they would support moving Britain's clocks forward one hour year-round to be in line with Continental Europe.
