How people feel about tipping in the UK has a lot to do with where you are in the UK.

In places like London, people are far more likely to eat out at restaurants and not tipping makes you look like a cheapskate to your cosmopolitan friends.

In more provincial parts of the UK things are slightly more old fashioned and there really isn't the same eating out culture. There will be plenty of people who haven't eaten in a real restaurant in years. When they buy food out it will be at a pub, a cafe, a fast food joint, the Chinese takeaway, or a fish and chip shop. The closest they get to proper table service will be at a cheap chain restaurant on someone's birthday.

And the venues follow suit. It's not like America where some waitress comes over, asks you about your day, discusses the menu with you, and then trots out refills as soon as your glass starts looking empty. You order at the till, you pay upfront and then a surly kid dumps a sandwich in front of you. You're lucky if you get ice in your drink.

A lot of these people are not in the habit of tipping and they find the whole practice a little obnoxious. And personally, I didn't even realise that people tipped taxi drivers in the UK until I read this thread.

So don't sweat it and just drop a quid or two on the table unless you're at a fine dining establishment.