I can imagine how stifling the UK must seem to someone hoping to see guns everywhere. Uniformed cops in the US are generally avoided by most members of the public, as they are usually the bearers of bad news of one kind or another. Uniformed cops in the UK are far from perfect, but they are not intimidating. They are not members of a paramilitary organization, strutting around in jackboots, armed to the teeth. They are civilians.
I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "stifling". I found Florida's west coast rather stifling. I found LA in the '90's stifling, though also exciting. NYC in July and August can be extremely stifling.
If you are saying that the UK is politically stifling, as in government oppression, then I disagree. It is not the "land of opportunity" that the US is, that's for sure. Neither is it a place where you get ahead in life by fucking over other people. There is a sense of fair play, which extends throughout society, not bound by class distinction or the size of one's bank account. It is definitely not Wyoming, which I doubt anyone would describe as stifling.