THE start of British Summer Time should be brought forward by a month this year to raise morale during the pandemic, a Bournemouth MP has said.

Former minister Tobias Ellwood argues the country should also move the clocks forward permanently by an extra hour.

The MP said clocks should spring forward on February 28, four weeks ahead of the current date for 2021.

“Sunlight brightens our day: it lifts morale, raises our spirits and encourages outdoor activity. Yet as we advance towards spring, ever more of us rise after sunrise but stay awake long after sunset, effectively wasting daylight,” the MP for Bournemouth East wrote in The Times.

“Transferring an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening would make far better use of this valuable free commodity.

“After an unprecedented winter of hardship, would it not make sense to bring forward the clock change to the end of February, transferring an hour of daylight to the early evening where it can be better used?”

He claimed the move could make a difference to the R rate of Covid-19 transmission by encouraging people to spend more time outdoors.

Bournemouth MP calls for extra hour of daylight

During World War Two, the government had clocks moved ahead to save power and allow more working time in daylight. British summer time ran for the whole year and "double summer time" was later added in the summer months. The system has not changed except for a trial of year-round summer time from 1968-71.

Mr Ellwood has long argued for a permanent moving forward of the clocks, bringing Britain into line with mainland Europe.

He produced a report on the subject for Conservative leader David Cameron when Mr Ellwood was opposition spokesman on tourism in early 2010, but the policy was never taken up.

Mr Ellwood argued that “moving the clocks permanently forward by an hour would far better suit the modern rhythm of life, where so much activity takes place in the evening”.

He said a permanent shift would make roads safer and improve wellbeing by adding 235 extra hours of after-school time. It would reduce carbon footprint by requiring less electric light in the evening, he added.