Good article debunking all those "British broadband is worse than [insert random developing country]!" headlines:
Basically, they're saying that it's mainly down to our dodgy economic situation and people not finding faster broadband a priority when deciding on what to spend their shrinking wages.
The speeds are there, available, but people can't afford them or don't need them. I can get 350Mbps here, but why would I spend money on it?