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TimeYou are in: Jersey > My Island > Time > A referendum on time ![]() A referendum on timeBy Ryan Morrison You will get the chance to vote in a referendum in October over whether Jersey should be CET or GMT. After a debate in the States on 18 June, members have decided that the island will be holding its first referendum on 15 October - the date of the Senatorial Elections. The referendum won't be on government reform or GST. It won't be on energy or waste but will be on whether we should change the clocks and move to Central European Time. Senator Jimmy Perchard, who proposed the referendum, said it was the ideal subject for a referendum. He told States Members: "If we give the public a chance to vote on this and if the public were enthusiastic about the idea of moving to Central European Time this could provide the opportunity for us to become more socially aware, more continental in our lifestyles and help us lead healthier and greener lifestyles." However, the Council of Ministers have set out the advantages and disadvantages of plans to introduce Central European Time. They say if the public votes for the change, it should be done on an experimental basis for the time being and that the public need to consider two questions when they're deciding if we should move the clocks forward by an hour. ![]() From Leicester's clock to Eiffel Tower The first is whether the benefits of having an extra hour of daylight in the evening will outweigh the disadvantages of it being darker in the morning. The second is whether the benefits of any change will outweigh the disadvantages of moving out of the same time zone as the UK, Ireland and Portugal. They've set out a table explaining how the change could affect road safety, our quality of life and even our television programmes. The Council say if the States did adopt Central European Time then it should be continually monitored because it's unclear how businesses and industries would be affected. Have Your Say What are your thoughts on this? Will you be voting for or against the move to Central European Time in October? Will you bother voting at all? Will a chance to vote on the time make you more likely to vote in the Senatorial elections? If we were to move to Central European Time what would be the biggest advantage and the worst disadvantage for you? If you voted YES in a referendum to change the islands time zone, it would mean moving clocks forward by an hour in line with France. It's thought the extra time would give islanders longer evenings to enjoy. However some opponents say as a finance centre, Jersey could be unwise to make its time an hour ahead of UK businesses. This subject has been talked about many times on our message boards and in the BBC Jersey Time section. One user, Peter, doesn’t agree that it would affect business. He said “being employed by the Finance Industry, I would say that being on CET would be better for business than being on GMT or BST so sorry Dan, I do not agree with your 'Finance Industry argument. A lot of us work from 8 till 6 anyway!” Emilie is fed up with all the change. She said “Why is everyone so intent on changing everything? There is no real problem the way things are so what would be the point of changing?” And Mallouin thinks it would be pretty good all around. He said “Banking/finance surely no longer works so restrictively as it is now a world player, lighter evenings appear to be safer for schoolchildren, farmers work by the natural cycle so who would actually lose out, could it be tv viewers (there you go JEP you would be on to a winner).” Should Jersey change its clocks to bring it in line with France or should we stay British and leave things as they are now? last updated: 18/06/2008 at 16:27 Have Your Say
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