This week I visited Parliament as MPs debated and voted on a series of amendments to the EU withdrawal bill. After the votes, we then heard from May, Corbyn, and others, as they gave their reaction.

This would have been an opportunity for May to say her favourite “nothing has changed” phrase and it actually to have been accurate. Instead though she said she’d be looking to reopen negotiations with the EU to try to change the withdrawal agreement. This looked unrealistic before the votes and that has only been confirmed in the days after.

With Parliament’s rejection of the deal negotiated by May’s Government and now the lack of clear strategy for where we go next, we again hear calls to “just leave” and take the no-deal option.

The reality is that a no-deal Brexit, of the form envisaged by many, simply walking away and turning our back on the EU, is a myth. It simply isn’t possible.

Whilst it is possible and remains the default option that on 29 March we’ll be outside the EU without a deal, such a no-deal Brexit would simply be a temporary state, with us required to immediately enter into negotiations with the EU on a variety of subjects.

We can have a no-deal Brexit, but we can’t have a no-deal UK/EU relationship moving forward. There a variety of issues that we must agree, such as citizens rights, existing commitments (both by the UK to the EU and the EU to the UK), border controls, recognition of standards, and security.

Yet such a Brexit would be highly chaotic.

Much of the no-deal planning by both the EU and the UK involves in some areas simply continuing to operate on current rules for a temporary period whilst new arrangements are agreed. But that doesn’t apply to everything. There would be immediate changes on 29 March.

It is still though uncertain whether 29 March will see Brexit with a deal, no-deal, or indeed no Brexit. That limits the ability of both businesses and individuals to plan for changes that would result from no-deal.

This means that a no-deal Brexit would see businesses and individuals having to deal with significant changes with little notice, only to then have a likely second unknown change on the horizon as the UK and the EU negotiate new arrangements.

No-deal Brexit therefore makes no sense. Its disruption is unlikely to present a better negotiating position for anyone. Both the UK and the EU would be eager to reach agreements on various subjects and that is just as likely to produce bad agreements, which require later amendment and the negative impact that has of further rule changes, rather than the advantageous situation that some Leavers envisage.

Whilst I’d rather we abandoned Brexit entirely, I would strong suggest that if we don’t agree a deal before 29 March that we either withdraw the Article 50 notification or seek an extension and remain in the EU on our current terms unless and until a viable deal is actually agreed.

I think there is also widespread confusion as to what May’s deal actual provides. This wouldn’t be the end of negotiations. It ties up the loose ends of our departure and only sets the foundation for our future relationship with the EU. That future relationship would be the subject of negotiations after 29 March.

May’s deal is universally unpopular. It is interesting to consider why Leavers reject it. Part of this is simply because the “backstop” acknowledges the reality they continue to want to deny. That no one really has an answer to how we can leave the EU, the Single Market, and the Customs Union, without breaking up our United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

It is clear that a significant mistake of the referendum was asking a question where no one has a clue how to actually deliver the option that received the most votes.

One of the things that I find particularly troubling about Brexit isn’t Brexit itself. It’s how it has demonstrated the shocking level of either ignorance about how our political system works or a willingness to reject anything that might contradict existing beliefs.

It is scary how frequently I just hear the same things. Any negative predictions about a no-deal Brexit are greeted by suggestions that we can’t predict the future. Yet, of course, Brexit supporters are happy to predict our future outside the EU will be fantastic.

Other common suggestions are that somehow waving our flag and being proud is enough to solve all our problems. There’s also a belief that the UK buying German cars is another easy fix for everything.

The reality is that it is all rather more complicated. Our trade relationship is a very important issue but it isn’t the only one. There’s plenty of dull, boring stuff that will keep lawyers entertained.

It’s important to realise that even should there be a willingness on all sides to find a solution, it isn’t as simple as politicians clicking their fingers and everything being magically fixed.

Just taking one example, ultimately it won’t be the politicians that decide whether flights can continue in a no-deal scenario, no matter how much politicians across Europe might want that. It will be the accountants and lawyers of the airlines, and if there is uncertainty about the rules they are operating under, they simply won’t be able to fly. The risks would be too high. And getting the clarity required will take time.

That many Brexit supporters won’t even acknowledge that there are risks in a no-deal scenario only further weakens their credibility. If they’re so obsessed with Brexit that they will deny the blatantly obvious, perhaps we should consider their assertions about how great Brexit would be with a little greater suspicion.

It seems to me that many Brexit supporters need to be a little more humble and acknowledge that when experts say things they don’t like, it might not be part of a conspiracy against them, it might just be because they have a greater understanding of the subject.

Whilst we are seeing stockpiling of essential supplies including food and medication, we still hear that all the risks that the public and private sector is spending millions and a great deal of time preparing for are just myths. It’s all just scaremongering. We really do have to ask ourselves, who knows more about how to ensure continuity of supply of food and medicine? Is it the Brexit supporters or is it actually those involved in doing that every day of the week.

The risks of a no-deal Brexit are real and incredibly serious. It’s time we started listening to experts again and took their warnings seriously. We desperately need to find a solution in the next fifty-five days that allows us to avoid no-deal. If not, it won’t matter which side of the referendum we were on, we’ll all be losers.

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