I saw that pic too - and I was thinking exactly the same thing! I live in rural Devon with a long stretch of untreated farm roads before my commute hits gritted tarmac, so I've sprung for a pair of Nokian Mount & Grounds. I was out on Friday in driving snow with trailer attached riding on slippery stuff I couldn't even stand on. Great fun!
(For the record, a British hard winter is probably April in Boston or something equally stupid, but the shock of it after a decade of warm wet winters is going to throw some people and drivers ALWAYS forget how to drive in hard weather. Hey, can you guys buy more Hummers and screw up the Gulf Stream a bit more? This weather's fun
)