Some thrown-out-there comments in here as per the norm...
Winter tyres shouldn't be law in the UK; just personal choice, IMO - Emergency Services don't change to winter tyres; neither do HGVs etc etc etc... For those that do frequent/live in the colder, hillier climbs in the UK probably should take extra steps, whether they do or not is their choice...
And I see the. 'I've been driving for 50+ years and never had an accident' comment is cropping up...
Great; well done you!
But it's not just about YOU; it's about OTHERS around you that drive like first-class twats on a daily basis; it's all about how to avoid anything to do with them as well as better braking/handling and control etc...
But again; it's personal choice...
All I know is that as an advanced driver and having had a lot of driver training from professional forces and ex-forces driving instructors; they run either all-season or winter tyres, every year, without fail, for a reason and that reason is that in the UK, we DO get colder weather, we DO get very wet weather with lots of standing water and we DO get ice & snow. So these tyres come into their own in these weathers and they offer very good peace of mind...
But you still have to drive to the conditions
Having seen first hand on a professional testing circuit what decent all season & winter tyres are capable of compared to top of the range summers is very eye opening...
However, the caveat is really cost & space