CET/Berlin time

[RT65CB-SWL]

Has anyone got any updates on the CET/Berlin time that the EU want the United Kingdom & Eire to adopt? or know where one can vote for/against it?

[Tantalus]

There is a private member's Bill currently going through parliament, championed by Rebecca Harris. The purpose of her Bill was to

"Require the Secretary of State to conduct a cross-departmental analysis of the potential costs and benefits of advancing time by one hour for all, or part of, the year; to require the Secretary of State to take certain action in the light of that analysis; and for connected purposes."

Before any Bill can become law, it has to go through several stages and readings, first in the House of Commomns, and then in the House of Lords. On Dec 3rd 2010, the Bill had it's second reading , and was passed by 92 votes to 10. It now goes to a commitee stage before a final reading in the House', though no date has yet been set. You can track the progress of the Bill here Parliament UK: Bills before Parliament

It's a long way off from becomming law, if ever. But although there have been numerous failed attempts in the past to change our current system, I get the funny feeling that this Bill could go all the way.

If you don't agree with the Bill you could try lobbying your MP, but I wish you luck on that one - I wrote to my MP back in November to ask him how he intended to vote on this issue, and putting my own feelings across, but I've yet to get a reply...

[E621Keith]

All of the world star chats, marine chat, maps, GPS, and time is defined around the prime meridian in Greenwich. Adopting CET in UK would be a stupid idea. What good would GMT do if the host country doesn't use it.

[RT65CB-SWL]

Totally agree with E621Keith, "... Adopting CET in UK would be a stupid idea..."

I also do SWL (short wave listening) - another hobby that requires the GMT/UTC time format for logging etc.