Yes it is very bad practice and should not be done. You should continue the earth to the fittings and if it's not required thern terminate it in a choc block or similar. Don't chop it off!BTW - Out of curiosity, is it bad practice to use a 3 core cable instead of a 2 core one and not use the earth wire. I.e. cut the earth wire back to the sleeving on both sides of the cable, and effectively only use the Live and Neutral cables?
Perhaps you misunderstood my question, or I have misunderstood your reply. I was refering to a scenario where instead of using a 2core cable you use a 3core and do not use the earth at all. So, lets take my situation - One would normally use a 2 core from the junction box to the push switch. Instead of doing this, would using a 3core, but not wire the earth to the junction box (or the push switch as there is no earth) be a bad thing to do? Does that make sense?
This is a question purely based on curiosity, as personally I am wondering what the difference is between a 2 core cable and a 3core where the earth is not used at either end.