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Sources · Ending clock changes

This house would stop changing the clocks.

Fact bank v1 · 13 cards

  1. CLK-01Mostly true

    “When the clocks go forward in spring, more people have heart attacks.”

    Mostly right, but the rise is small. A 2019 review of seven studies with more than 115,000 people found the risk of a heart attack was about 5% higher in the week after the clocks go forward. There was no clear rise after they go back in autumn.

    A larger 2024 review of 12 studies from 10 countries found much the same: about 4% more heart attacks after the spring change and no clear change in autumn, though the studies varied a lot. A well-known study in Michigan in the US found 24% more heart attacks treated with a procedure to open blocked arteries on the Monday after the spring change, and 21% fewer on the Tuesday after the autumn change. But the total for each week did not change, so its authors think the switch mostly brings forward heart attacks in people who were already at risk, rather than causing extra ones. All the studies in the 2019 review looked back at health records, and only one allowed for other possible causes, so the reviewers say more research is needed.

    “The risk of AMI increases modestly but significantly after DST transitions, supporting the proposal of DST shifts discontinuation.”
    Journal of Clinical Medicine (open-access article on PubMed Central)·Daylight Saving Time and Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Meta-Analysis (Journal of Clinical Medicine)Government / parliament · 23 Mar 2019 ↗

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  2. CLK-02Mixed

    “Car crashes and road deaths go up straight after the clocks change.”

    It depends where you look. A big US study of fatal crashes from 1996 to 2017 found the risk rose by 6% in the week after the clocks went forward, with no change after they went back. But a study of Great Britain from 2005 to 2018 found no rise in road deaths around the clock changes, and if anything slightly fewer.

    In the US study, the rise was biggest in the mornings and in places further west within a time zone, where mornings are darker. Another researcher argued that the rise seen in the US doubled after a 2005 law moved the dates of the US clock changes. The British study found the changes made only a tiny difference, a drop of less than one death a year on average. Reviews of the research in 2017 and 2025 found that studies disagree and many show no overall effect. None of this settles the separate question of whether keeping one time all year would save lives (see CLK-03).

    “observed that spring DST significantly increased fatal MVA risk by 6%”
    Current Biology (PubMed record)·A Chronobiological Evaluation of the Acute Effects of Daylight Saving Time on Traffic Accident Risk (Current Biology)Government / parliament · 30 Jan 2020 ↗

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  3. CLK-03Mixed

    “Keeping British Summer Time all year round would save around 30 lives a year on the roads.”

    Partly backed, but the number is shaky. The figure of about 30 lives a year is an estimate from RoSPA, a road safety charity, given to a House of Lords committee in 2019. Evidence from Britain's 1968 to 1971 experiment suggested summer time all year could cut deaths and serious injuries on the roads, but more recent research is inconclusive.

    RoSPA says lighter evenings help because road accidents tend to peak in the afternoon. But the Lords committee warned that the evidence was decades old and mixed up with other changes at the time, such as new speed limits (see CLK-08). A 2022 study of British road data from 2005 to 2018 said its results do not support the 30 figure, but it only looked at the days around the clock changes, and its authors said it is hard to use their results to predict what future changes would do. In the 1990s, the Scottish Office said its own analysis found a similar change would be 'broadly neutral' for road casualties in Scotland, where winter mornings would be darkest, though its figures were not available at the time.

    “experiment in the late 1960s suggested that moving to permanent summer time (GMT + 1 hour) could reduce fatal and serious road accidents.”
    House of Commons Library, UK Parliament·British Summer Time (House of Commons Library Research Briefing 03796)Government / parliament · 25 Mar 2026 ↗

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  4. CLK-04Mixed

    “84% of Europeans voted to stop changing the clocks.”

    The number is real, but it wasn't a vote of all Europeans. 84% of the 4.6 million replies to a European Commission public consultation in 2018 wanted to stop the changes, but the replies came from less than 1% of people in the EU, and 70% of them came from Germany.

    People chose whether to take part, so it was not a poll of a fair sample of the public. Of those who answered, 56% wanted to keep summer time all year. In the UK, only 0.1% of people took part, though 82% of them backed ending the changes (see CLK-13 for proper polls in Britain). A proper opinion poll of 1,000 people for the Irish government still found a majority, 66%, for stopping, but 82% of them were against Ireland and Northern Ireland ending up on different times.

    “consultation, which generated around 4.6 million replies, of which 84% were in favour of discontinuing the bi-annual clock changes while 16% wanted to keep them.”
    European Commission (Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport)·SummertimeOfficial statistics · 18 Sept 2026 ↗

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  5. CLK-05Mostly false

    “The EU has already voted to scrap changing the clocks, so Britain will be the odd one out.”

    Not yet. The European Parliament voted on 26 March 2019 to stop the clock changes by 2021, but EU governments in the Council have still not agreed, so it has never become law. EU countries still have to change their clocks every spring and autumn.

    Under EU law, countries put their clocks forward on the last Sunday of March and back on the last Sunday of October. The European Commission proposed ending this in 2018. A House of Lords committee found that talks between EU governments had made little progress, with some worried about countries ending up on different times. In 2026 the House of Commons Library said the plan was never put into effect. It added that in 2025 there were reports the EU might drop it altogether, though the Commission's own page still says it is waiting for EU governments to agree. Since Brexit, the UK would decide for itself. If the EU did stop and the UK didn't, Northern Ireland would end up on a different time from either Ireland or Great Britain for part of the year.

    “adopted its position on the Commission proposal, supporting a stop to the seasonal clock changes by 2021. The Council has not yet finalised its position.”
    European Commission (Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport)·SummertimeOfficial statistics · 18 Sept 2026 ↗

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  6. CLK-06True

    “Sleep experts say we should stop changing the clocks.”

    Confirmed: in 2024 the British Sleep Society said the UK should stop changing the clocks, and US sleep experts such as the American Academy of Sleep Medicine say the same for America. But they want standard time all year, which in Britain is Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), not summer time.

    The British Sleep Society says the changes harm sleep and body clocks, especially when the clocks go forward, and that daylight in the morning is good for us. It says GMT all year would be better than changing the clocks, and much better than keeping summer time all year, which would have most people getting up an hour earlier compared with the sun, and worse still in the north and west. In the US, the National Sleep Foundation, the Sleep Research Society and the American Medical Association also back standard time all year. So this advice supports stopping the changes by staying on GMT, and counts against keeping summer time all year, which is what most Britons say they would choose (see CLK-13).

    “The British Sleep Society strongly recommends the restoration of permanent Standard Time (GMT) in the UK.”
    Journal of Sleep Research (open-access article on PubMed Central)·The British Sleep Society position statement on Daylight Saving Time in the UK (Journal of Sleep Research)Government / parliament · 23 Oct 2024 ↗

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  7. CLK-07False

    “We only change the clocks for the sake of farmers, and hardly anyone farms any more.”

    Clock changes weren't brought in for farmers. William Willett suggested them in 1907 so people could enjoy more daylight in the evenings, and Britain first used them in 1916 as a wartime measure to save fuel and boost output.

    Farmers have often been against moving the clocks. When a bill to bring in the idea first came before Parliament in 1908, one objection was that it would cause difficulties for farmers. When Britain kept summer time all year from 1968 to 1971, farmers were among its strongest opponents. Today farming groups don't agree with each other: Northern Ireland's farmers' union says the changes make getting produce to market harder, Scottish farmers worry about working on dark winter mornings if summer time were kept all year, and the National Farmers' Union says it depends on the farm.

    “May 1916, however, following a similar initiative in Germany, Parliament implemented clock changes to increase economic productivity and reduce fuel consumption as a wartime measure.”
    House of Lords European Union Committee, UK Parliament·Clock changes: is it time for change? (House of Lords European Union Committee, 5th Report of Session 2019-21, HL Paper 15), Chapter 2Government / parliament · 11 Feb 2020 ↗

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  8. CLK-08Mostly false

    “Britain tried keeping summer time all year from 1968 to 1971, and it was scrapped because more people died on the roads.”

    Mostly wrong. Government road researchers found that more people were hurt on the darker mornings, but far fewer were hurt in the lighter afternoons and evenings, so overall casualties fell. For the winter of 1969 to 1970 they estimated about 230 fewer deaths, 8% of that winter's total.

    MPs voted 366 to 81 to end the experiment in December 1970. Fears about children going to school in the dark, and strong opposition in Scotland and among farmers, played a big part, and little faith was put in the accident figures at the time. Critics say the experiment overlapped with the breathalyser and the 70mph speed limit. The researchers said that looking only at the hours around sunrise and sunset kept out the effect of the drink-driving law. Northern Scotland was the only region where deaths and serious injuries went up, though its total casualties still fell slightly. The government's 1970 review said the overall pros and cons were impossible to measure.

    “more people were injured in the darker mornings, but fewer people were injured in the lighter afternoons”
    House of Commons Library, UK Parliament·British Time (Extra Daylight) Bill [Bill 15 1995/96] (House of Commons Library Research Paper 96/4)Government / parliament · 15 Jan 1996 ↗

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  9. CLK-09True

    “If we kept summer time all year, it wouldn't get light in the north of Scotland until about 10am in midwinter.”

    Confirmed: with clocks kept an hour ahead of GMT in winter, the sun would rise at about 10.09am in Lerwick and 10.11am in Stornoway on the shortest day, and at about 9.46am in Glasgow. In London it would rise at about 9.04am.

    These sunrise times come from a 1996 House of Commons Library paper, using Whitaker's Almanack. Even a campaigner for lighter evenings admitted it would not be light until up to 10am for a few weeks in the north of Scotland. The Scottish Government told a House of Lords committee that, without the autumn change, Scotland would have no daylight between 8am and 9am in winter. This only applies to keeping summer time all year. If the UK stayed on GMT all year instead, winter mornings would be just as they are now, but summer evenings would get dark an hour earlier.

    “for a few weeks in the north of Scotland it would not be light until up to 10 am”
    House of Commons Library, UK Parliament·British Time (Extra Daylight) Bill [Bill 15 1995/96] (House of Commons Library Research Paper 96/4)Government / parliament · 15 Jan 1996 ↗

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  10. CLK-10Mostly false

    “Changing the clocks saves loads of energy.”

    Not much, if any. When the US added about four extra weeks of daylight saving time in 2007, its Department of Energy found this saved about 0.03% of the country's electricity use for the year. A study in Indiana found daylight saving time actually raised household electricity use by about 1%.

    Saving fuel was a big reason clocks were changed in the world wars and the 1970s oil crisis. But lighter evenings can mean less lighting and more heating or air conditioning, which can cancel out the savings. The Indiana study found the biggest rise in autumn, of 2 to 4%. A 2018 review that pooled earlier studies found an average saving of just 0.34% in electricity use, and close to none when weaker studies were left out. US sleep doctors say the year-round daylight saving time tried during the 1973 oil crisis saved little if any energy. Most of this evidence comes from other countries. A House of Lords committee heard there was 'no model' yet for working out the economic effects of shifting when Britain uses electricity.

    “This corresponds to 0.5 percent per each day of Extended Daylight Saving Time, or 0.03 percent of electricity consumption over the year.”
    US Department of Energy·Impact of Extended Daylight Saving Time on National Energy Consumption: Report to Congress (Energy Policy Act of 2005, Section 110)Government / parliament · 1 Oct 2008 ↗

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  11. CLK-11True

    “America tried permanent summer time in the 1970s and dropped it after one winter because people hated the dark mornings.”

    Confirmed: during the 1973 oil crisis, Congress put the US on daylight saving time all year to save energy. It was so unpopular, especially in the countryside, that Congress reversed it after a single winter by a huge majority.

    Year-round daylight saving time began on 6 January 1974, and the US went back to standard time on 27 October 1974. Support fell from 79% of Americans in December 1973 to 42% by February 1974, as people faced dark winter mornings. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine says this was likely the main reason it was unpopular, and that little if any energy was saved. In 2022 the US Senate passed a bill to make daylight saving time permanent, but the House of Representatives did not, and in July 2026 the House passed a new bill to do the same. Like Britain's 1968 to 1971 experiment, this is a lesson about keeping summer time all year. It says nothing against staying on standard time all year, which Hawaii and Arizona already do.

    “After a single winter, the policy was reversed by an overwhelming congressional majority.”
    Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (open-access article on PubMed Central)·Permanent standard time is the optimal choice for health and safety: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine position statement (Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine)Government / parliament · 1 Jan 2024 ↗

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  12. CLK-12Unsupported

    “Stopping the clock changes would cost businesses a fortune, especially airlines.”

    Nobody has put a number on it. A House of Lords committee heard that airlines, energy markets and computer systems would all need to adjust, but it received no estimate of the costs for any industry or for the economy as a whole.

    Airlines warned of a huge rescheduling job, but the airline industry's own witness found it impossible to give a cost. The energy regulator Ofgem said there would be an initial cost, but that ending the changes could later make market rules simpler. The UK government said aviation, energy markets and farming would face disruption and costs. The bigger worry is the UK and its neighbours ending up on different times. If the EU stopped changing the clocks and the UK didn't, Northern Ireland would end up on a different time from either Ireland or Great Britain for part of the year. In 2019 the UK government and Ireland's prime minister both said they opposed a time border on the island of Ireland, and in 2020 the UK government said both governments were completely against one.

    “We received, however, no estimate of the potential size of these transition costs for any industry, or for the economy as a whole.”
    House of Lords European Union Committee, UK Parliament·Clock changes: is it time for change? (House of Lords European Union Committee, 5th Report of Session 2019-21, HL Paper 15), Chapter 4Government / parliament · 11 Feb 2020 ↗

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  13. CLK-13Mostly false

    “Most people in Britain want to stop changing the clocks.”

    Not according to recent polls. The House of Commons Library says UK opinion is split: a 2024 YouGov poll found 46% wanted to keep the clock changes and 42% wanted to stop them.

    In that poll, younger people were more likely to want to keep the changes. A 2019 YouGov poll quoted by a House of Lords committee found only 44% wanted to keep them, but the committee did not say how many wanted to stop. If the changes did end, 59% in the 2024 poll said they would rather stay on summer time all year and only 25% chose GMT, while UK sleep experts favour GMT (see CLK-06). Big 'yes' numbers, such as 82% of UK replies to the EU's consultation, came from people who chose to take part, so they are not a fair sample (see CLK-04).

    “In a 2024 YouGov poll, 46% of people were in favour of continuing to implement daylight saving time, and 42% said it should stop.”
    House of Commons Library, UK Parliament·British Summer Time (House of Commons Library Research Briefing 03796)Government / parliament · 25 Mar 2026 ↗

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