Britain's clocks could move forward by an hour if Scotland doesn't object to ... - Telegraph.co.uk

Any opposition from Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland to veto the change would be likely to kill it off and a Whitehall source admitted the trial was "not that likely" to get off the ground.

Tim Yeo MP, a former Tory environment minister, accused the Government of giving in to the Scots by giving the Scottish Executive a veto over the policy.

He told The Daily Telegraph: "Millions of people will be disappointed. It will aggravate sentiment in England about the powers of the Scottish parliament.

"The Scottish tail should not be allowed to wag the British dog. Why has a nation of Scots which has a smaller population than London be allowed a veto over the UK?"

Mr Yeo, who chairs the Energy and Climate Change select committee, has introduced two private members' bills urging the change over the past five years.

He said it would be simpler to give Scotland the option of not falling into line with England and Wales, and having different time zones.

A previous trial of the time change was abandoned in the 1970s after complaints in Scotland and northern England, although research later showed it had led to an overall fall in road deaths and injuries.

Campaigners who favour the change say it would improve road safety, provide an increase in tourism and cut energy use in the evening.

Critics who are against the plans say pushing the arrival of daylight back by an hour would be dangerous for families on the morning school run and would force farmers to work for longer in the dark.

Speaking during a visit to Australia the Prime Minister said: "I've always been interested in this debate as someone who likes playing sport and all the rest of it.

"But I've always felt you could only do this as a United Kingdom and there have always been very strong arguments made in Scotland."

Ministers had previously opposed the Daylight Savings Bill, which calls for the costs and benefits of the switch to be reassessed.

But on Friday the department for Business, Innovation and Skills announced it could reverse its position subject to an amendment.

This would mean the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly would have to be consulted about any trial time change, and Northern Ireland would have to agree to it.

Further legislation would be required for a trial to go ahead, and the government said the plans would be dropped if there was "clear opposition" in any part of Britain.

Business Minister Edward Davey said: "This is an issue which affects everyone across the country so we cannot rush head first into this.

"Lower road deaths, reduced carbon dioxide emissions and improved health have all been argued over the years as possible benefits.

"If there is strong evidence to support this then we should at least see what the possible benefits are."

Scotland's SNP administration appeared to all but kill off the proposals, claiming there was "no case for a change to existing arrangements."

Angus MacNeil, the SNP MP, said: "It is no secret that Tories in the south want to leave Scotland in darkness, but fixing the clocks to British summertime would mean that dawn wouldn't break in Scotland until nearly 9am.

"That would have massive implications for the safety and wellbeing of everyone living north of Manchester."

But Scotland's farming lobby backed the review yesterday, saying that while it was nervous of the potential impacts, it was time for an independent analysis of the proposal.

NFU Scotland said it supported the bill in order to "move the discussion forward".

:: The clocks will go back at 2am this Sunday as British Summer Time ends.