The clocks will go forward an hour tonight as British Summer Time begins at 1am.
They will remain on BST until October 26 when they will revert to Greenwich Mean Time in order to give an extra hour of daylight in the mornings during the winter.
But senior Tory MP Tim Yeo, who has a house in Sandwich, is among those calling for the clocks to never go back again.
He said keeping the clocks at BST would make roads safer.
He said: “Evidence shows it would be more valuable to have daylight at the end of the afternoon instead of morning in terms of saving lives on roads.”
Mr Yeo also claimed that the move would save energy and lower bills, as well as boosting the British tourism industry. It is supported by many road safety campaigners.
David Williams, of road safety group GEM Motoring Assist, said an extra hour of light when children are returning from school on winter evenings would save hundreds of lives.
One of the main historic reasons for moving the clocks back in winter is that it is beneficial to farmers and agriculture workers.
However, the National Farmers Union now says it is keeping “an open mind” about the possibility of scrapping the time change.
A spokesman said: “The last time we tested the opinion of our members was a couple of years ago and there was a narrow majority in favour of lighter evenings.”
BST was first proposed around the turn of the 20th century by William Willett, a builder who lived in Chislehurst.
Mr Willett, the great-great-grandfather of Coldplay singer Chris Martin, died in 1915, a year before a daylight savings measure was passed by
Parliament.
POSTED: 29/03/2008 09:00:00