HIP replacement

I'm quite pleased with the Christmas cracker quality pun of this post's title, though I'd be amazed if it's not already been used by at least one tabloid. Anyway, the Telegraph feels that it's time to get rid of Home Information Packs, and it's hard to argue. I've not spoken to one ex-pat who has sold up and fucked off out here who has a good word to say about them. Or anyone else for that matter. The promise was to simplify the process of buying a house, but as soon as the details of the Seller Pack/HIP proposal started to come out it became clear it would do nothing of the kind. There is additional cost and complications for sellers and no practical benefit for buyers, end of. It's just another example of the retarded belief in political circles that to improve something government needs to get involved more, whereas the opposite is usually true. A real improvement might have been to imitate simpler systems in use in other countries. Australia might be one possibility but many in the UK point to the Scottish system which, being largely composed of Scots, the government ought to be pretty familiar with. So why don't they admit it was a shit idea and change it? Well, some say because the government are getting VAT on the HIPs (though fucking up the housing market probably means not a lot of people are ordering HIPs at the moment), and others claim that the EU are behind it and Westminster is powerless to get rid of them. Both may be at least partly true but as the cliche has it, there's no need to suspect a conspiracy when stupidity can explain it. And political ego of course. How likely is it that NuLabGov will admit they fucked it up and that HIPs are useless? If it happens before the next election I'll print this out and eat it.

UPDATE: Gazundering is back in fashion. HIPs really are pointless.