MPs back off fight with Holyrood over plan to move clocks forward

By DAVID MADDOX
Published on Saturday 21 January 2012 00:03

ENGLISH MPs appeared to back away from a confrontation with the Scottish Government yesterday when they side-stepped a vote over proposals to move clocks forward an hour.

A debate on the private member’s bill that could have led to Scotland having a different time zone to the rest of the UK was ended without a vote when MPs ran out of time.

During the Commons debate right-wing Conservative English MPs, led by Jacob Rees-Mogg and Christopher Chope, raised fears that backing the time change would play into the hands of the SNP and hasten the break-up of the UK.

The Scottish Government had said it would oppose the move. It claimed the darker mornings would be bad for Scotland, particularly for farmers.

The private member’s bill, which was supported by Labour and the government front-bench, would have launched a study into scrapping Greenwich Mean Time.

It was scuppered yesterday by an unlikely alliance made up of Tory back-benchers and SNP MPs.

Mr Rees Mogg and Mr Chope argued that, with an independence referendum now certain, the last thing the pro-UK side needed was for Scotland to be allowed to have its own time zone, something which the SNP said it would consider in the consultation had the bill succeeded.

Instead, those opposed to the bill put down more than 100 ammendments, preventing it getting as far as a vote in the time allocated.

The bill was being taken through parliament by Tory MP Rebecca Harris, whose Castle Point constituency is in the south-west of England, which claims to lose millions of pounds in tourism revenue because of the current time set-up.

Mr Chope said “the Achilles’ heel” of the legislation was that “it enables the United Kingdom government to change the time zone in Scotland without the consent of the Scottish Parliament”. He said: “We know that the Scottish Parliament and that MPs representing Scottish constituencies in this House do not support a change that would make winter mornings in Scotland even colder and darker than they are already.”

Mr Chope added: “If this parliament changes the time zone for the United Kingdom against the wishes of the people of Scotland, that is going to give extra ammunition to those people in Scotland who are campaigning for an independent Scotland.”

The SNP’s Angus MacNeil said: “If there is any perception of high-handedness from Westminster, we will probably see last week’s figure of 1,000 new members for the SNP being dwarfed.”

In a sign of wider discontent with the bill, Mr Rees-Mogg tabled amendments to give Somerset the power to set its own time zone.

Last night, Edinburgh South Labour MP Ian Murray, who was speaking for the Labour front-bench in the debate, said: “What we have seen is the SNP joining the most right-wing Tories to stop a sensible bill which, had it gone ahead, would have allowed the whole issue to be killed off once and for all.”

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Jason the 1st

Saturday, January 21, 2012 at 07:03 PM

@ Charles Linskall No1. "Thanks to our Scottish Government for having sense, And Opposing Utter Stupidity". More like, Thanks to our Scottish Government for having sense, And Opposing everything that comes from South of the border. This is the raison d’être of Holyrood, no substance but just being plain difficult. Shallow, lacks intellect and completely embarrassing.

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samcoldstream

Saturday, January 21, 2012 at 12:32 PM

If, Westminster politicians and investment bankers in the City of London want Central European Time then why don't they just set their alarm clocks for an hour earlier|? Why should everyone in the North of England, North Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland have their lives interrupted because of this selfish minority.

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Vote 'NO'

Saturday, January 21, 2012 at 12:00 PM

Huh? Gnat MP presence is numerically (politically) irrelevant at Westminster!! This is an example if the Union Dividend, a decision taken against the (English) majority, in favour of the minority (us Scots) in the best interest f the Nation. Only a dolt could see it otherwise.

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Charles Linskaill

Saturday, January 21, 2012 at 12:30 AM

All said and done, We tried changing our clocks an hour forward over 40years ago, It was a Total Disaster, Why go back in time, and try it again, Thanks to our Scottish Govenment for having sense, And Opposing Utter Stupidity!

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