I think that the majority of UK residents are unaware that its illegal to rip a CD and would rip CDs without knowing its breaking the law. This is currently not the case; legislation to legalise CD ripping was revoked in 2015.
You may be interested in these active petitions
We've removed old and out of use laws such as blasphemy and this should follow suit.
Many pieces of software prompt you with a "rip CD" button when inserting one and many people already treat it as if it's legal.