An interesting thread.
What so far nobody has answered authoritatively, is why the UK has such a different approach to the rest of Western Europe when it comes to GA use of controlled airspace.
I know a number of opinions (but with no backing data) have been put forward, mostly alleging higher traffic density, but even if that is the case, surely you would then go and hire more controllers to deal with that? I struggle to believe that such a comparatively expensive place to fly can have such an appalling level of service.
I would be most appreciative if anyone can point me to any relevant studies explaining the reasons for those differences (please note, as for mere opinions, I think I've heard most of them already).