Central European time?

Seems the government want to adjust the clocks forward 2 hours and are offering the excuse that it will be good for tourism.

Express.

THE prospect of longer and lighter summer evenings came a step closer yesterday after ministers backed the Daily Express and agreed to look at a shake-up in the way clocks are set.

Whitehall sources confirmed that a permanent change will be proposed by the coalition this week.

The move, to be announced as part of a new “tourism strategy”, would put the country on “double summertime” – two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, and an hour ahead of British Summer Time.

“The tourism industry estimates that this measure could create 80,000 jobs at a stroke and would be worth about £3.5billion to the economy. It would also be a huge boost to participation in sport.” She said research by the Department for Transport had found that putting the clocks forward could save about 80 lives a year by cutting road accidents on darker evenings.

It is understood the Government will put forward a series of options in a public consultation later this year. Its favoured option is to put the country on Central European Time, in line with most of the Continent.

Personally I don't know why they don't just change the business hours and open schools earlier if they want to approach it from a health and safety point of view, the proposed plans will also have kids walking to school in the dark for a lot of the winter anyway, so I don't think safety has anything to do with this. There are also plenty of other ways to get around this, though none so simple as changing the clocks admittedly.
Over all, I suspect this is simply more of the EU's machinations to bring us all into line with the rest of Europe, which would raise my hackles anyway, though I'm not really in any position to do anything about it as other than a general election and a European election every 4 years or so I don't get a say, they never think to ask me even in polls. I expect the public will swallow the excuses, at least until the winter when they'll discover that dark mornings and school runs are not a lot of fun at all.

Ministers want to switch the date of the May Day bank holiday. The break is based upon Labour Day, which some ministers see as an outdated socialist festival. Instead, they would like a “UK Day” or a “Trafalgar Day” marking Admiral Nelson’s victory over the French and Spanish fleets on October 21, 1805.

Strangely enough no mention of St George's day which is popular amongst the English at least and certainly a worthy replacement for May Day, though Trafalgar day would be nice as well, until the pc crowd get involved about insulting and hurting French feelings. As for a UK day, well that's the most likely one, though I for one will feel no desire to celebrate such a day. I'm English, not British, not UK ish and not European, not in my mind anyway, legal requirements be damned.
If there is to be a new bank holiday, let it be St George's Day in England, St David's Day in Wales, St Andrew's Day in Scotland.and St Patrick's Day in Northern Ireland. Not a generic one size fits all celebration of multicultural Britain which is what I suspect the government and various politically correct types will aim for.

You know it's coming.