Longer days, bank holidays and wedding days!

by Robert Powell on 14 March 2011  |  15 comments
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Robert Powell hits the streets to get your thoughts on British Summer Time and bank holidays...

In just over a fortnight our Sunday lie in will be cut by an hour as the clocks jump forward to British Summer Time.

But this jump was very nearly doubled after tourism ministers proposed moving Britain’s clocks into line with the rest of Europe. The idea was that the change would give the economy a boost by making evenings longer and lighter.

In the end the plan didn’t materialise, after MPs decided that any changes would need the consent of the whole UK.

So today I’ve hit the streets to get your take on whether the proposed changes would be good for the economy!

Should the clocks go forward two hours this summer?

Most of the people I’ve spoken to today think that the government should have gone through with their proposal - but most still had some doubts about the plans.

The main argument against the time change was the dangers caused by darker mornings – especially in Northern England and Scotland.

Many claimed that an extra hour of early morning darkness would increase road accidents and make it more dangerous for children travelling to school.

The financial advantages of adding an hour

Tourism chiefs claim that longer summer evenings would attract more visitors and boost the economy by £3.5bn a year.

But agricultural unions in Scotland have opposed the plans saying that farmers would suffer disproportionately from darker mornings.

The time change may not have made it into the new tourism strategy – but one proposal that has is the idea to scrap the May Day bank holiday in favour of a bank holiday later in the year.

Bank holidays

The proposal for a bank holiday later in the year is designed to give the economy a boost by extending the tourist season.

Suggested dates for the new bank holiday include Trafalgar Day in October or St George’s Day for England and St David’s Day in Wales.

But most of us will be getting an extra day off work this year whatever happens, thanks to the Royal Wedding on 29 April.

But with our economy still in such a fragile state, should Will and Kate’s wedding day really be a bank holiday?

Royal wedding

The Department for Business has estimated that the extra bank holiday will cost the British economy around £2.9bn.

The extra day-off has also pushed up the wedding security costs, as police officers will be paid double time for working on a bank holiday.

An extra bank holiday here and there and an hour more daytime may sound, on the face of it, like fairly good and harmless ideas – especially when government cuts are continuing to depress the nation.

But there is a serious financial side to these issues – and you can have your say on them right here at lovemoney.com.

What do you think?

Should the government put the clocks forward two hours this summer? Is it time to scrap the May bank holiday? Should Wills and Kate's wedding really be a bank holiday?

Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below.

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