Nicely Insulated, But a Bit Dim

Any Conservative administration, abetted or not by the Liberal Democrats, can plunge people into poverty; but it takes a Conservative turned Liberal Democrat to find a solution that is both pragmatic and humane. Lord Lee of Trafford, an octogenarian life peer and veteran of the English Tourist Board, proposes to drag Britain's idle plebs into the upland sunshine by moving the clocks forward an extra hour. Modern daylight saving time was invented by the owner of a construction firm specialising in houses for the rich, whose early-morning summer horse-rides were blighted by vistas of unprofitable working-class somnolence. Campaigners now estimate that further extension of the waking day might save the peasantry as much as twenty-five minutes' illumination a day from their soon-to-be doubled energy costs. Of course, thanks to the Britishness of our construction industry, the most wastage occurs in expenditure for heating; but an intellect of Lord Lee's wattage can scarcely be expected to light upon mere facts.