EU votes to stop moving clocks twice a year

The European Parliament has voted to stop moving clocks forward an hour in spring and back again in the autumn.

Politicians passed the measure by 410 votes to 192 – meaning seasonal time shifts, which were introduced during World War One to save energy, will end in 2021.

A final law will be produced after discussions with member nations, but the UK government has indicated it will stick to the current system after Brexit.

Supporters of scrapping daylight saving time point to scientific studies that have linked the twice-yearly changes to illness because of how they interrupt biological cycles.

During a debate on Monday, Marita Ulvskog MEP told the European Parliament: “New technology and different ways of living mean that we no longer earn anything (from time change), in fact we don’t save.”

An EU-wide survey that generated 4.6 million responses found that 84% were in favour of ending the bi-annual changes – but critics say the study was dominated by Germany, which accounted for 70% of responses.

Under an EU directive, all 28 states currently switch to summer time on the last Sunday of March and back to winter time on the last Sunday of October.

–

Skynews