in the uk i think its a case of been pushed to the limit before action is taken by the public like the lead up to the poll tax riots which acheived the desired effect and brought and end to the poll tax yet withing a few months these people who stood up and acted were branded thugs and criminals and the majority of people bought into it.
however when a group of truckers fought for everyone to get fuel lowered and blockaded rifineries a lot of people didnt see the bigger picture and moaned about fuel shortages when petrol stations ran out of fuel
today the british public choose to use tools such as facebook to protest which are very easily ignored by those in charge and unless the protest group gets a mention in the press its most likely the people in charge will never be aware of it.
sadly nothing ever gets done until it starts effecting london and the polititions directly.If it appears they are going to loose a lot of votes their ears open