“Car crash!” exclaimed managing director Andrew Varga, whose Brexit progress I have been following since the referendum. News of the latest Brexit U-turn landed on him on Tuesday out of the blue. All his years of preparation for a new UK product safety mark, all his thousands of pounds wasted, all the uncountable hours and effort were rendered pointless, at a stroke.

At gas stations, there’s fuel rationing and hours-long lineups. At the supermarket, there’s sometimes no milk or meat, and warnings that Christmas turkeys may be unavailable – along with Christmas trees and many popular toys. Building materials are so scarce that construction sites have shut down.