There is such a thing as society, and it comes out in the snow

Snow makes people statist. Or at least that is what you’d think if you went by newspaper headlines alone. Why has the government not bought enough grit?, they scream. Why has Mayor Boris Johnson gone abroad instead of commanding London’s snow-clearing? Should the PM not freeze with the rest of us? (As it happens, the Foreign Office heating system has broken down so at least the Foreign Secretary’s gilded office is as cold as anywhere else in the country).

It is true that only governments can order salt in industrial quantities, clear roads and grit streets. But dealing with a snow blizzard can also put the big in Big Society, so to speak. In times like these the overwhelming majority of people, up and down the country, show common sense, neighbourliness and generosity of spirit.

People help each other when their cars are stuck in the snow. Neighbours check on each other.