For the umpteenth time, no-deal is not an option, or at least not one that you would voluntarily choose. Before accusing me of "remoaner" pessimism, let me explain why, for there has been much ill-informed nonsense of late to the effect that we have nothing to fear from such an outcome but fear itself. This is denial verging on the delusional.

Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary, says the chances of a no-deal Brexit grow by the day, Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, says those chances have become uncomfortably high, and Liam Fox, the International Trade Secretary reckons it’s now more likely than not. Each ill-judged utterance brings the pound that bit closer to outright parity with the once languishing euro.

With this slide towards the cliff edge has come a gathering volume of commentary to suggest that such a divorce would be both manageable and even positively desirable. The safety net of World Trade Organisation terms are all the protection we need, it is claimed, making it impossible for the EU to discriminate against our goods and services.

The reality is that the WTO framework is not as robust as it might seem, and crucially we would still have to rely on the goodwill and agreement of the EU to make it work in our favour. In other words, we would need some sort of a deal.