Brian..
I used to use the L85A2 when I was in the BA.
Guess I did not practice reloading enough
My point is:
The Bullpup configuration is designed for one purpose... to have a full length barrel in a platform that is compact. The Brits adopted this rifle when the battle ethos changed during the early 80's that most infantry would now be deployed from vehicles. The SA80 was officially adopted in 85 as the L85A1 then reworked into one of the premier individual weapons systems in the world as the A2.
The compromise, as all weapons systems are, is that to get the full length barrel in a compact design you do not have the "Reach" of a conventionally laid out weapons platform.
Also the last major Bayonet Charge was conducted under fire... not against screaming hordes waving AK's and advancing with pig stickers on display when they had run out of bullets. My point of "Reach' against a conventionally laid out platform is still valid.