Sorry for you, you'll have to take out the whole socket and mount it again upside down.

At least you can mount the light bulb "the other way" with the bayonet mount while screw light bulbs are screwed

It does if you smash the earth pin enough times with a hammer first :)

Nope, because you won't get any current to live.

Our UK household plugs and sockets really are a fine piece of engineering.

A common trick to insert a EU-style plug into a UK-style socket is to temporarily insert something in the ground pin socket. An ordinary house key works well, and has the added bonus of shocking bystanders.

Granted, UK-style plugs really are excellent pieces of engineering, best appreciated when upturned and trod upon in the dark.

You overestimate the quality of most of them.

as long as you don't step on one barefoot

Even worse than stepping on a LEGO brick.

Really? Happy to be only threatened by LEGO then. Postive side effect, I'm also driving on the right side of the road! ;-)

EDIT: this has to change now, too, right?

Come on, this is Hacker News - stepping on an upturned PCB in the dark has to be some sort of prerequisite of membership? ;)

The earth pin is needed to open the covers of the other two holes.

That actually only happens on reasonable quality ones. Old and cheap shitty ones usually get stuck open or break off very rapidly. The BS spec is only good until 1 insertion after the point of sale.

Source: I was a part time sparky for a few years.