Potentially, we could have had a similar experience to the Dutch however during the 70s/80s the car was raised to be as important as house ownership (there's some specific quote from a member of the Conservative government to that effect, but I cannot for the life of me remember it). Cars are massively important in British life, the roads have been designed specifically for them, traffic lights (new ones) are designed more for drivers than pedestrians. The car lobby is huge, there was a guy from the Association of British Drivers who basically said 'why would anyone cycle, it's one of the most risky occupations you can undertake, you should have a car'.
It's nice to see how well organised the Netherlands is (despite what I'm sure are many flaws in the system), but it'll take another oil crisis to shake British love for cycling.
As a postscript, I've just started cycling part of my commute recently (9 mile round trip), and whilst cycling in Britain is definitely doable, it's scary how close some drivers get to you at times. I think it's a lack of respect of the distances, and a little blindness to anything outside of your bubble rather than malicious intent, but I can't imagine any parent being happy about sending their teenagers out on the roads.