1 October 2021. We asked 6,238 European HGV drivers in motorway cafés throughout Poland, France, Germany and Spain:

“Will you be applying for an Ebenezer Visa?”

The visa would magnanimously allow EU truckers to rescue the UK from the supply chain mess it has created by leaving the Single Market and abolishing freedom of movement. The visa is granted on the strict understanding that if Stanislaus, Michel, Andreas and Carlos don’t “go home” by 24 December they will be forcibly removed.

A cautious examination of the results indicates that the UK is not the desirable work destination its government imagines it to be.

UPDATE: 2 October 2021. “Emergency visa scheme extended in major U-turn by Boris Johnson: Threat of Christmas being ruined by driver shortages forces ministers to expand range and duration of visas”