I do think that METO have done a good job in their forecasting so far this Autumn/Winter.They have had the big picture right- NAO + for November and so far December.In the shorter term they have flagged up possible interruptions to the zonal flow ie cold snaps but have put appropriate caveats/probabilities on these.
I think METO do an excellent job on the whole and we should give them more credit.( Beware Mr Osborne is seeking to sell off whatever he can and that could include the Met Office)