However, that doesn't change the fact that the intersection that ATC are flying you towards are actually now defined as coordinates, not radials or distances from nearby VORs.
If an ATC tells you "direct OKSAW" they won't give you a VOR radial to intercept - you are expected to go straight there in a relatively straight line from your current position. There were boxes like the KNS80 that could do VOR-VOR navigation to do this kind of thing but it's not user friendly by modern standards.
Of course the UK is extra weird because you can fly IFR in class G airspace which is quite extensive outside of terminal areas. More realistically this is VFR in IMC, with the pilot being responsible for his own terrain and traffic separation (somewhere between relying on the "big sky" theory and these days, hopefully, some TCAS system). We even have a special sub-ICAO IR(R) rating which allows a pilot to punch holes in clouds and even to shoot an approach at a airport but not to access the class A TMAs / airways.