Derbyshire is about to plunge into darkness. Hurrah

I’ve much respect for the Matlock ­Mercury: our part of the Derbyshire dales would be the poorer without this lively and conscientious local paper. And were it not for the Mercury’s useful report I’d never even have learned about the county council’s plan. But I do take issue with the headline. ‘Big switch-off to hit Dales villages’ turns good news into bad; and most of us won’t see this as bad news.

The idea is to switch off street lighting in the county, where appropriate, first in villages and then in parts of towns, between the hours of midnight and 5.30 a.m. For most people this will be no inconvenience, and for many it will be a blessed relief. Progressively over the last century we have been engaged across the British Isles in an ugly, expensive and futile attempt to abolish the night. I’ve raged against this in the Spectator; now, at last, a local authority seems to agree.