I think the views in this thread and the daily madness with cars arguing over gaining that extra 100 yards is the reason I will always comute on a bike for the rest of my life.
I can see why people get upset, regardless of the highway code... they have moved into lane early as signs have indicated loss of lane ahead. Sure it doesn't make best use of space available but at end of day on X amount of cars can pass through the lane at a time so it really makes no odds other than cause a longer tail back. Lets face it, us brits love to queue
A longer tailback doesn't really harm anyone (and in theory is only twice as long as if both lanes were used). I suppose it could cause congestion to other roads if it got out of hand.
Maybe OPs method of merge in turn is at fault.... if there is a long queue, charging up to cut in at last moment at the speed limit (this is REALLY dangerous btw, no excuses) will get peoples backs up. It's like 'hey im coming through my journey is much more important than yours' kind of attitude.
Late merging (ie - forcing your way through as your lane vanishes), is rude and dangerous
I dunno about all this, life is too short really... why not just join the queue with the majority of people, or get a bike if you really don't like queuing.
No doubt someone will pipe up ans say 'but flukester, you drive at 170mph and finance a i10', who gives a monkeys... i10 won't push in any more politely than a beemer, and 170mph is not the velocity to do next to stationary traffic just as 50 is not either. Hummmmmm
edit: possibly the most sensible post I've ever made, *pats back*