Brexit supporters thought that the EU was obsessed with this country, part of our sense of exceptionalism. Not so, as Kate Moore discovers. / Travelling across Europe provides the opportunity to quiz Germans, Swedes, French, Spanish and UK nationals living or travelling abroad about their attitude to the UK and its departure from the EU.

As British people walk among empty supermarket shelves, they could be forgiven for being concerned about Christmas. When the government deploys the army and desperately tries to import thousands of foreign temporary workers, the promised post-Brexit “sunlit uplands” seem rather distant. The most acute shortage is that of lorry drivers.

Seven correspondents report on how the UK’s political upheaval has affected its image on the continent.