Hi mate,
Generally in England people who use scuba are in drysuits or semi dry at least, not surf suits.
You get a lot colder diving because you arent exerting so much energy as surfing and it gets colder at depth.
I agree the surf suits do look better, but image usually matters more to a surfer than a diver. A surf suit isnt ideal for freediving but is less ideal for scuba.
Your best bet is to either hit up a dive exhibition when there is one, you can pick up some good deals on brand new gear there. Or alternatively find a good dive shop that stocks used goods. Drysuits (and virtually every piece of SCUBA gear for that matter!) are usually quite pricey so second hand isnt a bad idea at all.
To be honest, since starting freediving my drysuit seems rather redundant, so might be for sale soon! For the limited scuba Ill be doing I am just going to wear my spearfishing suit, basically the same as a semi dry scuba suit, if not warmer anyway!
In short, dont bother getting a surf suit for scuba (unless youre in warm water i suppose), youll only get cold and miserable and wish you had bought the right thing first. If free diving interests you at all as well, get a free dive suit, then at least you can do both. Only downsides to the open cell freedive suit are that they take a little skill (or lube) to get on, and they are less durable than other suits generally, but in all honesty I would say a spearfishing suit gets more abuse than a scuba suit and some spearos suits last multiple seasons! And they are MUCH more comfortable! just make sure its a nylon outer not smooth or slick.
Dont think Ive overlooked any obvious points but any pro's feel free to point them out if I have
Hope this helps,
Peace