Hardly anyone uses winter tyres in the UK, no pool of knowledge about them. I'd check out something like the ADAC website or http://www.tyretest.com/pkw_winterreifen/index.html for comparisons. I personally use Vredestein Snowtrac 2 which are very good and like Barum another Continental offshoot.
Hardly worth it.. For the amount of snow we have its much more worth buying a set of new standard tyres, maybe the narrowest you can fit, and use them. Winter tyres cost a small fortune, and will wear out quickly on dry roads.