It seems that you are suprised by the fact that this is happening in England, of all places.

But the UK (Scotland more than England, but neverheless) has been at the forefront of antiprivacy policies and dehumanization of its citizens for many decades, and is often the pioneer of such politices in the West.

The English and the rest of the "citizens" of the UK seem to love it and consistently and relentlessly vote for it and fail to issue significant constitutional challenges against all these policies.