We have seen Boris Johnson the showman, the joker and today, the gambler.

Yesterday Labour, the SNP, Lib-Dems and other opposition leaders gathered at Westminster to play their hand to stop a no-deal Brexit.

Today, the PM revealed his own hand - and trumped the opposition.

For all the talk and court cases, his move to prorogue parliament today caught everyone by surprise.

Now, if it all goes ahead as the PM's strategists plan, then MPs will only miss an extra handful of sitting days - but it puts some serious obstacles in the way of any opposition tactics to block no deal.

It means the party conference season recess effectively goes ahead, with MPs prevented from cutting that short. Parliament would not return until the Queen's Speech on October 14.

That would be followed by a week of debates and a vote. If the UK Government loses that, it is effectively a vote of no confidence leading to an election with next-to-no time to extend Article 50.

That could mean a mad scramble for a confidence vote next week, just after they'd ruled it out yesterday.

I have been expecting a general election for about a year. Westminster was already at fever pitch with the Chancellor's statement next week.

Now it's just gone through the roof as Boris Johnson puts a flashing neon sign pointing to an early election.