it is possible, but i find it difficult to believe the cell signal in the UK is more power hungry than in the US.
It's not the "cell signal in the UK" but the signal conditions in your exact location. Weak signal conditions anywhere drains the battery faster since the phone has to put out a stronger signal to connect to the towers. Consider disabling 3G in settings.
Does your battery drain faster when not on calls or accessing data - i.e. standby or using apps? Do you have data roaming enabled?
If there is a problem charging your phone, the battery charge icon wouldn't reach 100% - I'm assuming from the fact that you didn't mention it that it does show full charge.