United Kingdom time zone history
London left local mean time (UTC−0:01:15) in 1847, the earliest switch of the 298 zones with local mean time in the record. The zone’s clock record is used in 4 countries and territories today. In 1947 the clocks were changed 4 times.
UTC+0
Standard time is UTC+0 (BST/GMT); clocks go forward to UTC+1 on the last Sunday in March and back on the last Sunday in October.
Summer time in 55 of 57 years since 1970
Before 1970
Standard time changes
| Date | Change | New standard time | Clock label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1970 | |||
| December 1, 1847 | Local mean time (UTC−0:01:15) replaced | UTC+0 | GMT |
| October 27, 1968 | Summer offset kept as standard time; clocks did not move | UTC+1 | BST |
| Since 1970 | |||
| October 31, 1971 | Standard time back 1 hour | UTC+0 | GMT |
Daylight saving periods
| Years | Clocks go forward | Clocks go back | Shift and labels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1970 | |||
| 1916 | May 21 | October 1 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1917 | April 8 | September 17 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1918 | March 24 | September 30 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1919 | March 30 | September 29 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1920 | March 28 | October 25 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1921 | April 3 | October 3 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1922 | March 26 | October 8 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1923 | April 22 | September 16 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1924 | April 13 | September 21 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1925–1926 | third Sunday in April, 02:00 | first Sunday in October, 03:00 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1927 | April 10 | October 2 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1928 | April 22 | October 7 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1929 | April 21 | October 6 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1930 | April 13 | October 5 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1931–1932 | third Sunday in April, 02:00 | first Sunday in October, 03:00 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1933 | April 9 | October 8 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1934 | April 22 | October 7 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1935 | April 14 | October 6 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1936–1937 | third Sunday in April, 02:00 | first Sunday in October, 03:00 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1938 | April 10 | October 2 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1939 | April 16 | November 19 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1940 | February 25 | not that year | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1941 | May 4 | August 10 | 1 hour, BST to BDST |
| 1942 | April 5 | August 9 | 1 hour, BST to BDST |
| 1943 | April 4 | August 15 | 1 hour, BST to BDST |
| 1944 | April 2 | September 17 | 1 hour, BST to BDST |
| 1945 | April 2 | July 15, October 7 | 1 hour, BST to BDST |
| 1946 | April 14 | October 6 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1947 | March 16, April 13 | August 10, November 2 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1948 | March 14 | October 31 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1949 | April 3 | October 30 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1950 | April 16 | October 22 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1951 | April 15 | October 21 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1952 | April 20 | October 26 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1953 | April 19 | October 4 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1954 | April 11 | October 3 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1955 | April 17 | October 2 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1956 | April 22 | October 7 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1957 | April 14 | October 6 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1958–1959 | third Sunday in April, 02:00 | first Sunday in October, 03:00 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1960 | April 10 | October 2 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1961–1963 | last Sunday in March, 02:00 | last Sunday in October, 03:00 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1964 | March 22 | October 25 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1965–1966 | third Sunday in March, 02:00 | fourth Sunday in October, 03:00 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1967 | March 19 | October 29 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1968 | February 18 | not that year | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| Since 1970 | |||
| 1972–1975 | third Sunday in March, 02:00 | last Sunday in October, 03:00 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1976–1977 | third Sunday in March, 02:00 | fourth Sunday in October, 03:00 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1978–1980 | third Sunday in March, 02:00 | last Sunday in October, 03:00 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1981–1988 | last Sunday in March, 01:00 | fourth Sunday in October, 02:00 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1989–1992 | last Sunday in March, 01:00 | last Sunday in October, 02:00 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1993–1998 | last Sunday in March, 01:00 | fourth Sunday in October, 02:00 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
| 1999–2037 | last Sunday in March, 01:00 | last Sunday in October, 02:00 | 1 hour, GMT to BST |
Clock changes in 2026, 2027 and 2028
The clocks go forward 1 hour (GMT to BST) on March 29, 2026, March 28, 2027 and March 26, 2028 at 01:00 and back 1 hour (BST to GMT) on October 25, 2026, October 31, 2027 and October 29, 2028 at 02:00, local time.
Also on UTC+0
Faroe Islands, Lisbon (Portugal), Morocco, Madeira (Portugal), Canary Islands (Spain), Danmarkshavn (Greenland), Western Sahara, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire (nearest first; 2 more on the list of offsets).
Clocks next door since 1970
- Belgium (320 km): usually 1 hour ahead; different on 2,383 days in 1970–1995.
- France (342 km): usually 1 hour ahead; different on 2,201 days in 1970–1995.
- Ireland (462 km): same time every day; 1 hour ahead today.
- Switzerland (775 km): usually 1 hour ahead; different on 3,097 days in 1970–1995.
- Germany (929 km): usually 1 hour ahead; different on 2,922 days in 1970–1995.
How it compares
Clocks have been changed 111 times since 1970, the most of the 13 zones on UTC+0 standard time.
Clocks were first moved for daylight saving in 1916, tied for the earliest start among the 9 zones on UTC+0 standard time that ever used daylight saving time.