Why the EU wants to stop moving the clocks forwards and back

By B.R.

SOMETIMES THE decision to change a country’s time zone can be political. Despite its vastness, all of China runs on Beijing time—a decision taken by Mao Zedong in 1949 to instil unity. (Pity the poor people of Xinjiang province in China’s far west, where sometimes the sun does not rise until 10am.) For almost three years recently North Korea existed in its very own time zone, half an hour behind its southern neighbour, in keeping with its hermit tendencies. But more often countries fiddle with the time of day for practical reasons. Some 70 countries, mostly in the Americas and Europe, apply Daylight Savings Time during the summer months. Europe’s clocks will spring forward once again this weekend. Yet last week the European Union voted to end this long-established practice from 2021.

In the 18th century Benjamin Franklin mooted the idea of moving the clocks forward in the summer. But the practice really took hold during the first world war. Germany, France and Britain calculated that by adding an extra hour’s daylight in the evening, a saving could be made on coal. This, in turn, would help the war effort. Later, other benefits suggested themselves. It might increase consumer spending, as shoppers are encouraged to stay out later into the evening. It might even reduce crime. As the ne’er do well’s adage might go: “the longer the daylight, the less I do wrong.”