One Europhobe is finally waking up to the costs of leaving the EU.

Governments must acknowledge the fundamental reality that migrant workers don’t take jobs and benefits, but fill in essential labour needs

“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.

The ‘remoaner elite’, the civil service, the BBC, universities, unions, refugees: anything is blamed but Brexit itself.

‘Getting Brexit done’ has led to record migration numbers. So, what now?

Public concern about immigration to the UK may be down, but it has always been a surrogate question to living standards.

Shortages in the labour market, along with the vacancies in the health service, hospitality industry and agriculture, are the living evidence of this self-inflicted act

Our populist leaders boast of exceptionalism while continuing to corrode crucial alliances.

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.

The decision to limit immigration at a time of severe market shortages of drivers has escalated a squeeze into a crisis.

EU nationals are discovering that the Home Office is driven not by reason but by keeping numbers down.