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Many years ago, before my conversion to support in independence, I noted that in the event of a vote for independence I might find myself having to move to England for work - I expected to see the industry in Scotland be decimated, such that I would have to go elsewhere. Of course, that didn't happen - and, indeed, I concluded that actually it wouldn't happen, even in the event of independence, due mostly to a significant improvement in the health of that industry in Scotland (which, incidentally, continues to boom).

Alas...

This week, the government started talking seriously about preparations for a "no deal" Brexit, including efforts to start stockpiling to ensure that we had "adequate food" - the expectation is that a "no deal" Brexit will cause the ports to come to a shuddering halt, and given that we import 50% of the food that we eat, that's a bit of a problem.

There are three problems with this that I can immediately see. Firstly, "adequate food" is just enough to get by, not enough to be comfortable. Secondly, simply having "adequate food" doesn't mean anything unless you also have means to ensure that it is effectively and fairly distributed - we have massive inequality in this country, so while we may have "adequate food" on average, somehow I expect that to mean that the very rich continue to feast while thousands starve. But the third problem is the real clincher: they can't stockpile that food - they don't have the warehousing, they don't have spare capacity in the lorries doing the importing, they don't have time to get either of those things, and anyway much of the food in question is perishable and so can't be stockpiled anyway.

(Meanwhile, the government's preferred deal has just been killed dead by the EU, while the ERG are pushing hard for a "no deal" anyway, since they and their backers personally stand to make a lot of money, and we have a government and an opposition playing "chicken" on the subject - neither of them wants to deal with the fallout that would result from Brexit being abandoned. Basically, a "no deal" Brexit looks more likely with every passing day. And neither a second referendum nor a General Election would actually do anything to help, since the country as a whole doesn't actually know what it wants, beyond being generally pissed off at the status quo.)

The upshot is that I am deeply, deeply worried about what the next year holds for the UK. Unless the Powers That Be come to their senses and call off Brexit completely, or the EU takes pity on us and break their own fundamental rules to give us a deal the "no deal" fanatics can agree to (yes, I know), we're screwed.

In the "no deal" scenario, given our ability to produce food and the likely level of our stockpiles, our best case outcome will likely be the return of rationing in full force. For several years, until we can strike trade agreements with the EU and the US.

Given that our government can't organise a piss-up in a brewery, and given that rationing would now be a vastly more complex process than it was when it ended, I'm inclined to think that that's a forlorn hope. It's going to get very bad indeed.

Which brings me back to what I was talking about at the start of this post - moving for work. The blunt truth is that while Freedom of Movement within the EU will end with a "no deal" Brexit (or, indeed, any deal that we'll actually sign up to), the practical reality is that skilled workers always have greater options - and a software architect and a teacher of English are in a pretty good position.

And so, for the first time in a long time, I'm seriously starting to consider the possibility that we might have to quit this country and go elsewhere. My first and immediate thought was the US... but they have their own problems, so that's out. Which means that the EU probably remains our best bet, even despite everything that's happening. Specifically, Copenhagen - I hear it's nice there.

(There is one other escape clause, which is that while the UK will be leaving the EU, it's not absolutely certain that Scotland and/or Northern Ireland will do so - in both cases, there is at least the theoretical option of leaving the UK in order to remain. However, I discount the possibility of an independent Scotland for two reasons: (1) I don't think there's enough time - even if we voted for independence tomorrow, it would still take years to achieve it, which means enduring Brexit in the interim; and (2) the polls have failed to move noticeably, which suggests that even in that worst case Scotland would still vote to remain a region.)