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I do not see really why this might be C2

From the individual electrician's point of view, it's because industry guidance explicitly says it is  - and if we want consistent high quality EICRs then surely it's good if we're all singing from the same hymn sheet as it were.

From an industry point of view it's because under certain foreseeable single-fault conditions, the level of safety provided would be very substantially lower than an installation meeting current regulations in the same circumstances.  It seems logical to me to treat basic insulation exposed to touch, lack of earthing on class I equipment and unreliable ADS (e.g. due to excessive Zs) in a similar way - and these days I think most would agree that such defects should be regarded as making the installation “unsatisfactory” - hence a C2 as a minimum, since C3s by definition can't result in an unsatisfactory. 

Yes, I agree, we have far higher standards than on the roads - but compared with most things, it's the roads that are treated exceptionally (most safety legislation needs an explicit exception not to apply to road transport) - I can't think of any other sector that would accept the best part of 2k deaths/year and 200k KSI. Time passes and society's expectations move on. What was perfectly acceptable in 1970s is sometime quite unacceptable now (in many areas, not just electricity).  We need to keep up.

   - Andy.

I do not see really why this might be C2

From the individual electrician's point of view, it's because industry guidance explicitly says it is  - and if we want consistent high quality EICRs then surely it's good if we're all singing from the same hymn sheet as it were.

From an industry point of view it's because under certain foreseeable single-fault conditions, the level of safety provided would be very substantially lower than an installation meeting current regulations in the same circumstances.  It seems logical to me to treat basic insulation exposed to touch, lack of earthing on class I equipment and unreliable ADS (e.g. due to excessive Zs) in a similar way - and these days I think most would agree that such defects should be regarded as making the installation “unsatisfactory” - hence a C2 as a minimum, since C3s by definition can't result in an unsatisfactory. 

Yes, I agree, we have far higher standards than on the roads - but compared with most things, it's the roads that are treated exceptionally (most safety legislation needs an explicit exception not to apply to road transport) - I can't think of any other sector that would accept the best part of 2k deaths/year and 200k KSI. Time passes and society's expectations move on. What was perfectly acceptable in 1970s is sometime quite unacceptable now (in many areas, not just electricity).  We need to keep up.

   - Andy.