There certainly comes a point at which having winter tyres would make a difference, but in general, in the UK, many people don't have the nous to adapt to winter conditions.
I only failed to get to or from work twice in 20+ years on my 20-mile commute in winter conditions. Once when the queue into the town I worked in extended to 6 miles, and I simply went home and worked from there. The second was in admittedly bad conditions when the (traditional) LandRover in front of me gave up and turned round (an A-road that was then closed for 4 days due to snow!).
In coming home, I once was baulked by traffic in front of me up a steep hill, tried an alternative parallel route with the same results, and then reverted back to the original, and with a clear run had no trouble in second at a reasonable pace (and that was in a RWD Granada).
I've been over Kirkstone Pass in an RWD Chevette when it was closed due to snow (closed whilst we were crossing) and it was hairy, but without interference from other drivers it was ultimately do-able.
OTOH, there have been a few occasions in ostensibly less challenging conditions when I might have liked winter tyres. I got caught driving home from a meeting in the M1/M6 angle when there had been "thundersnow" and the road, whilst level, was lethal. In expectation, I applied the brakes well in advance of a roundabout, to be met with nothing at all. Luckily, the roundabout was clear, and I got enough traction to negotiate it, but I suspect winter tyres might have been better for the state of the seats.
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