<P> Daylight saving has caused controversy since it began . Winston Churchill argued that it enlarges "the opportunities for the pursuit of health and happiness among the millions of people who live in this country" and pundits have dubbed it "Daylight Slaving Time". Historically, retailing, sports, and tourism interests have favored daylight saving, while agricultural and evening entertainment interests have opposed it, and its initial adoption had been prompted by energy crises and war . </P> <P> The fate of Willett's 1907 proposal illustrates several political issues involved . The proposal attracted many supporters, including Arthur Balfour, Churchill, David Lloyd George, Ramsay MacDonald, Edward VII (who used half - hour DST at Sandringham or "Sandringham time"), the managing director of Harrods, and the manager of the National Bank . However, the opposition was stronger: it included Prime Minister H.H. Asquith, Christie (the Astronomer Royal), George Darwin, Napier Shaw (director of the Meteorological Office), many agricultural organizations, and theatre owners . After many hearings the proposal was narrowly defeated in a parliamentary committee vote in 1909 . Willett's allies introduced similar bills every year from 1911 through 1914, to no avail . The U.S. was even more skeptical: Andrew Peters introduced a DST bill to the United States House of Representatives in May 1909, but it soon died in committee . </P> <P> After Germany led the way with starting DST (German: Sommerzeit) during World War I on April 30, 1916 together with its allies to alleviate hardships from wartime coal shortages and air raid blackouts, the political equation changed in other countries; the United Kingdom used DST first on May 21, 1916 . U.S. retailing and manufacturing interests led by Pittsburgh industrialist Robert Garland soon began lobbying for DST, but were opposed by railroads . The U.S.'s 1917 entry to the war overcame objections, and DST was established in 1918 . </P> <P> The war's end swung the pendulum back . Farmers continued to dislike DST, and many countries repealed it after the war . Britain was an exception: it retained DST nationwide but over the years adjusted transition dates for several reasons, including special rules during the 1920s and 1930s to avoid clock shifts on Easter mornings . Now under a European Community directive summer time begins annually on the last Sunday in March, which may be Easter Sunday (as in 2016). The U.S. was more typical: Congress repealed DST after 1919 . President Woodrow Wilson, like Willett an avid golfer, vetoed the repeal twice but his second veto was overridden . Only a few U.S. cities retained DST locally thereafter, including New York so that its financial exchanges could maintain an hour of arbitrage trading with London, and Chicago and Cleveland to keep pace with New York . Wilson's successor Warren G. Harding opposed DST as a "deception". Reasoning that people should instead get up and go to work earlier in the summer, he ordered District of Columbia federal employees to start work at 08: 00 rather than 09: 00 during summer 1922 . Some businesses followed suit though many others did not; the experiment was not repeated . </P>

When do they change the time for winter