REMOTE parts of the North – as well as Scotland – must be offered a say on plans to move clocks forward by an hour all year, a Conservative MP has said.

Anne McIntosh, MP for Thirsk and Malton, attacked her own government’s support for a proposal to align the UK with Central European Time (CET), for a trial period of three years.

The switch would mean lighter winter evenings, which would cut road deaths, deliver a huge boost to tourism and reduce energy use, supporters claim.

However, the idea has sparked anger, particularly in Scotland, because it would mean an extra hour of darkness in the morning, postponing dawn until 10am during the winter, in northern areas.

As a result, the Government is amending a backbench Bill to ensure the legislation will be dropped if there is “clear opposition” in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

But, this week, ministers provoked surprise by voting through £750,000 for a detailed research project – suggesting they are very keen to drive forward the Daylight Saving Bill.

In the Commons, Ms McIntosh, who was born in County Durham, tore into the legislation, arguing it would “put lives at risk to have darker, colder mornings”.

She told MPs: “The Daylight Saving Bill is a complete misnomer.

There is no daylight saving. All that is proposed in the Bill is that the hours of darkness be moved further into the morning. There would be no benefits.”

And she added: “It is all very well to consult the devolved assemblies and parliaments, but remote areas – such as North Yorkshire, Cumbria, Northumbria and other parts a long way from the South- East – will not have the opportunity to be consulted. I do not want to see a North-South divide on the issue – I want the people of North Yorkshire to feel that their voice is being heard.”

Ms McIntosh called, unsuccessfully, for the £750,000 to be withheld until the Government had investigated the true cost of the switch, including to local authorities.

The MP is chairwoman of the Commons environment committee, which has already launched its own inquiry into the effects of the switch on rural communities and farms.

A Scottish Nationalist MP pointed out that a similar trial, from 1968 to 1971, was overwhelmingly rejected.