Thanks that’s interesting to know. I must say that it surprises me. In terms of volume, IRCC seems to be largely maintaining its 80% rule, and it is certainly not admitting otherwise (in our case, if it was volume, I wish they would just f***ing say so as I could go away for a month and stop worrying!).
However, of the 5 or 6 June/July applicants from the UK in this forum, based on the 80% standard, you would expect 1 or 2 to wait longer than six months, whereas to my knowledge only 1 or 2 went through in less than 6 months . Granted, this is a very selective sample, and there is no way we can get the whole picture, but it does seem odd.
I also know that my visa office is Ottawa, and that some other Uk applicants were in Sydney, so it appears we are being spread around.
Also, based on the IRCC publications, the % of UK applications is surprisingly low (as in I would expect more people from the UK to apply/get through the draw that appears to be happening). Therefore, that a lot of us on here seem to get a response after 7 months, whereas many others of many different nationalities made it through in 4/5 months is interesting. Even if it is only a coincidence.