The House of Commons held the third reading of the Daylight Saving Bill on Friday 20 January 2012 but a group of MPs combined to talk the private member's bill out of time.

Despite strong cross party support, no extra time will be given to considering the Bill, despite Ministers having backed the Conservative MP, Rebecca Harris, in her call for a review of the pros and cons of a change.  A series of ‘wrecking amendments’ were tabled, designed to waste time, so the Bill never even went to a vote.

The Bill would have required a detailed study into the costs and benefits of moving the clocks forward to Greenwich Mean Time plus one hour in the winter (GMT +1) and GMT +2 in the summer, with a possible three-year trial.

This news has been met with disappointment by a number of outdoor organisations, including the Sport and Recreation Alliance, who have been campaigning for the benefits of providing an extra hour of daylight in the afternoons and evenings, when most people are physically active. Similarly, the 10:10 Lighter Later Campaign, which has brought together organisations representing tourism, sport, road safety, communities, business and health have criticised the proceedings saying they were “an affront to the democratic process”.

It has been said that this result illustrates everything that’s wrong with the Private Member’s Bill system – a sentiment that is supported by many MPs who were supportive of the proposed changes.  The options now remain for organisations like the SRA, and the Lighter Later Campaign to keep pressing Government to take up the legislation itself, or to lobby for more parliamentary time.

In a statement on 26 January the Government said it will not allow any more time to debate the Daylight Saving Bill despite calls from MPs on all sides of the House for it to do so.  Commons Leader, Sir George Young, said he understood the "sense of frustration" from members, but insisted there was "no practical way" of the bill passing, "even if the government gave it time".

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