Has the time come to stop changing the clocks? This is what the science tells us

Tjeerd Bakker, senior horological conservator at Buckingham Palace, changes the time on a mantel clock, 27 October 2023. Photograph: Aaron Chown/PA

I will admit that ever since I was a teenager I have been favourably disposed towards putting the clocks back in the autumn. The idea of an extra hour in bed after the clock has ticked back from 1.59am to 1am has always appealed to me.

What I have never enjoyed about the switch away from British summer time (BST) is that we lose an hour of daylight in the evening. That first Sunday afternoon when twilight arrives before 5pm is always a shock to the system. I can’t help but feel cheated. I know we get that hour of daylight back in the mornings, but somehow that earlier hour never feels like adequate compensation.