Unpicked apples in an orchard near Friday Bridge, Cambridgeshire. 

 One of the intended consequences of the enlargement of the EU in 2004 was to create an underclass of foreign manual workers compelled to scurry around member countries to function as a check on the domestic workforce, ensuring wages and conditions were kept as low as possible. This was particularly acute in the UK agricultural sector which relied on foreign labour to deliver produce to the supermarkets at minimal cost. 

 The trickle down effect of Brexit combined with economic growth in their home countries emboldened A8 workers to militate for better pay, conditions and the ability to contemplate alternative employment, much to the disdain of the the large agricultural corporations who regarded their workers as an inconvenience rather than an asset. Ultimately prices had to rise to reflect the real cost of production, much to the disappointment of shareholders and shoppers, the latter of whom had been fooled into believing a low-wage, low growth economy was a feature of modern, successful society.