Winter is well and truly coming, which can only mean one thing: the clocks are going back.
In 2026 they’re going back by an hour at 02:00 on Sunday 25 October, and this is sometimes considered the ‘good one’, as you’ll have one hour more in bed. But why do we change the clocks at all? Is it for a scientific reason, possibly to do with the positioning of the Sun in summer and winter? To put it bluntly, no. The idea was first entertained because some people thought that by sleeping through daylight in the summer, the day was being wasted.
What is British Summer Time (BST)?
BST, sometimes called Daylight Saving Time (DST), is a period in summer when the clocks go forward by one hour, meaning we get up ‘earlier’ and see more sunlight. In October, the clocks go back again for the winter months.
Who first came up with the idea of changing the time?
Benjamin Franklin – an inventor, philosopher and American political heavyweight – first proposed the idea in a letter he wrote when in Paris in 1784. In it he joked that Parisians should be roused from their slumbers an hour earlier by ringing church bells and firing cannons in the street.
So, we’ve been using it since the 1700s?
Well… no. The idea didn’t actually resurface until 1895, when New Zealand scientist George Vernon Hudson proposed to his government that the clocks should go forward by two hours every summer. He wasn’t successful.
The idea really took off when a builder called William Willett (who just so happens to be the great-great-grandfather of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin) campaigned in Britain to change the clocks. It’s thought he was annoyed that his golfing would be interrupted by the sun going down, so he wanted to change the law to make sure there would be more light in the evening.
So did William Willett get it through Parliament?
No, he didn’t. He campaigned for the clocks to change until he died of influenza in March 1915, but it wasn’t his love of golf that persuaded Parliament. In the spring of 1916, during World War One, the German army turned the clocks forward as a way of conserving energy. Many (but not all) European governments followed suit shortly afterwards – including the UK.
What are people’s opinions on it today?
Opinions are very mixed. Some people say that changing the clocks twice a year upsets the natural rhythm of sleep, which can lead to health problems, such as an increase in the possibility of having a stroke. However, some say that if the practice was stopped, darker mornings in winter would be more unsafe, for example on the roads. Some industries such as agriculture also rely on there being lots of sunlight available to work in.
In March 2019, the European Parliament voted to end the practice of changing the clocks twice a year, with member states needing to decide whether they would permanently remain on winter or summer time by the end of 2021. However, the reform has temporarily been put on hold.
There are currently no plans to stop changing the clocks in the UK.