Usual cock-up by the British. Not allowing VFR at night is ridiculous, as you can often navigate a lot easier at night than by day when VMC. Making it mandatory IFR at night means that all sorts of exceptions and exclusions to the standard IFR rules have to be introduced, so that, in the end, you CAN fly VFR at night, but you can't call it that.

Time it was changed.

And what's more, I'd vouch that the majority of pilots who rely on a night qualification for their night privileges (i.e. members of the PPL community) do not understand the flight rules under which they are operating at night, and don’t appreciate the subtlety of having to switch to IFR in VMC at SS+30 outside CAS. Although pointing out the flight rules is on the night qualification syllabus, in my experience it’s not emphasised and is quickly forgotten, mainly because it naturally feels like you’re flying VFR at night – why should an inexperienced PPL think any differently?

On top of that, I've even heard ATC units asking civvy aircraft if they are VFR or IFR after the onset of night.

Time it got sorted out properly maybe instead of our current quaintly British compromise? If it walks like VFR and quacks like VFR surely it is VFR? Are there any other reasons for having the current set up outside CAS?

VFR at night is basically an accident waiting to happen, should alsways be IFR, nothing else