Brexit could leave NI in different time zone from GB, peers warn

The European Parliament voted last year in support of a proposal that would put an end to the twice-yearly changing of the clocks to accommodate extra daylight hours.

Under an EU directive, all 27 states currently switch to summer time hours on the last Sunday of March and back to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) on the last Sunday of October - a pattern the UK follows.

But under a potential swap by Brussels to a “double summer time” arrangement, Lords have warned that the Prime Minister’s Withdrawal Agreement could see Northern Ireland legally obliged to be one hour ahead for six months every year.

It would mean the 1.8 million people living here would follow summer time hours, even when those in Great Britain wind their clocks back by 60 minutes in the autumn.

The fears over an obligation for Northern Ireland to follow Brussels’ lead if the EU does adopt double-summer time stem from Mr Johnson’s Brexit deal, which signed Northern Ireland up to continuing to follow EU rules on goods and agriculture in order to prevent a hard border.

Any EU-wide shift in timekeeping would apply to Ireland and, due to the terms of the PM’s divorce treaty, Northern Ireland might have to follow suit, peers have suggested.

“Were this proposal (for double summer time) to become EU law under its current single market legal basis, Northern Ireland may be obliged under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement and the protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland to align with the EU and thus institute a time border with Great Britain,” said the Lords’ EU internal market sub-committee in its report, Clock changes: is it time for change?

The group of cross-party peers have called on the Government to “give urgent further consideration” to the impact the Brexit agreement could have if the EU does decide to make the summer time switch permanent - and criticised ministers’ lax approach to what could be a significant change for the UK.

“Our inquiry has demonstrated that any such decision at EU level would have implications for the UK, notwithstanding UK withdrawal from the EU,” wrote the peers.

“The nature and significance of such implications is not, however, well understood - not least by the Government.”

Baroness Donaghy, chair of the committee, said there was also the possibility that Ireland could face a situation where it has different time-zones on either side of the border.

“So far the Government has stuck its head in the sand, hoping that it goes away,” she said.

The report, published today, praised ministers’ “informal engagement” with counterparts in Northern Ireland on the issue.