Better British Time

Notes (August 2021)

I wrote this in 2013, well before Brexit, but perhaps this could be updated for our new political climate. The government will need something to distract people from the mess they have made.

Time zones and the UK

In the UK most people who have seriously looked at it seem to think we should get rid of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) and just have BST (British Summer Time) all year round. Apparently this would save lives and make us happier, as we would have more non-work time which was bright. It would annoy the Scottish, particularly farmers, but I really don't see the problem. We could always let them pick their own 'ST'..

British Better Time

But this is quite boring. What if instead there was a way of enjoying the extra hour of sleep on a Saturday night that is currently a once a year privilege while also shortening our working days? (And we could even work off the BST base as saving lives seems like a pretty good justification.) But how is this possible?

Leap Minutes

Basically we need to find 60 minutes a week, or 12 minutes per work day. I propose that when we reach 59 minutes past the hour from 5.59am onwards (for 12 hours) we immediately skip to the next hour. Most of this will be either during the working day with a few when most people are asleep.

Why not?

I actually think this is a great idea that could actually make people (including myself) a little bit happier without costing taxpayers much money. I've also pledged (irrespective of how stupid their other policies are) to vote for any UK party who puts this in their manifesto. Obviously other countries are welcome to join in.