Yes, our taps are dumb. But it comes from water regulations that prevent the mixing of water until it exist the spout, as often hot water was from a tank-supplied system and not potable, so they don't want listeria, etc, back-flowing in to the cold potable-water system.
The issue with ID cards is we never had them, outside of world wars, and was always a basic assumption that you did not need to prove you had any right to live and go about your lawful business. Add in to that the whole "Papers, please" of various police states, and the gross incompetence of our own government to either (a) manage them competently, or (b) not add feature-creep for whatever fear-de-jour of the tabloids.
Sadly we see them coming back like a bad penny whenever there is a chance for authoritarian gains, so bogey man of voter fraud, the general dislike of foreigners that Brexit-voters often show, COVID arguments for vaccination (though oddly that has not taken off in England yet, but seems to be infecting Scottish and Welsh politician's minds).