Daylight saving time (DST) – the process of moving clocks forward one hour during the summer – was introduced in Germany in 1916.

During the First World War, it was a way to conserve energy resources – less electric light and heating was needed on the brighter evenings – and to increase productivity.

Weeks after its introduction in Germany, other countries adopted the idea, including the United Kingdom, where it was named British Summer Time (BST).

During the Second World War, Great Britain even observed double British Summer Time when clocks were set forward by two hours.

This meant that while the clocks were set back an hour during the winter, they still ran an hour ahead of normal (GMT+1) to increase productivity.

Since then, there has been debate about whether to keep British Summer Time.

One of the most important arguments for retaining it is that the number of traffic accidents decreases significantly on the brighter evenings in summer.

Farmers also usually use the lighter evenings to be able to work the land better.

Others argue that changing the clocks twice a year is like giving the entire population a mild jet lag as we lose an hour of sleep in the spring, which affects our mental state, especially the day after.

There are currently no plans to change daylight saving time in the UK.