FOOD shortages and prices rising, fuel becoming less available, patients having to wait longer for crucial medicines, passengers delayed at airports and Eurotunnel, freight disruption at ports lasting up to three months, and a hard Irish border.

You may recognise these things as what the government has outlined a “worst-case scenario” if a no deal Brexit happens.

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Imagine this was anything else and the government was pursing a policy to secure an outcome for something that could lead to these things happening.

That administration would be labelled a joke, and rightly put out of office by voters.

Yet here we are and meant to see it as a success if only a couple of these things happen.

I have written in these columns previously that I switched sides from remain and want to see Brexit and the referendum result respected. But let’s get real here, the sensible way, the better way, is is leave is with a deal.

No deal could course chaos, so why anyone would want that is beyond me.

I have heard many times Theresa May's deal is the only deal we could get from the European Union - nonsense.

May’s government had red lines she refused to budge on in negotiations, and brought back a deal to parliament that was dead on arrival.

Fast forward to the summer, and Boris Johnson becomes Prime Minister saying he wants to leave with a deal.

But his actions since taking office suggest otherwise.

EU leaders say there is no movement in negotiations and crucially no credible alternative has been suggested to the backstop.

As for suspending parliament to give MPs less time to block no deal, the government can try to pretend prorogation was not that for that reason. But it was obvious that was the real motive.

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As I write this MPs of all colours are trying to bring legislation to block no deal.

Let's hope it goes through, because crashing out looks a nightmare.

The Office for Budget Responsibility, an indepedent body, says no-deal will cause a UK recession.

Maybe I should follow those burying their head in the sand, ignoring experts and the government's own warnings, and hope government preparations will work.

But right now I'm not optimistic.