It’s the last throw of the dice; the political showdown of the year; the final reckoning - yes, it’s the latest crunch week for Brexit and more particularly the government and Boris Johnson.

If we’ve become a bit blase about the various Brexit deadlines, it’s because they have mostly come and gone without the political meltdown predicted.

But this week does seem different, with Boris Johnson’s deliberate brinkmanship - a vow to shut down Parliament to thwart those trying to halt Brexit - raising the political stakes.

A measure of the concern the government has is the apparent threat to sack rebel Conservative MPs who join forces with the opposition to try to block a no-deal Brexit.

The Tunbridge Wells MP Greg Clark is said to be one of these - although he’s kept his counsel - but did post a tweet last week appearing to suggest that he disapproved of the plan to prorogue Parliament.

Meanwhile, the government has embarked on a huge PR exercise urging people and businesses to “get ready” for Brexit. It has been reported that a budget of £100m has been set aside for this to pay for billboard advertising and adverts on TV and radio.

Many businesses have said that they would be quite happy to ‘get ready’ but don’t exactly know what they are planning for - and what realistically they can actually do.

So, the build up to the ultimate Brexit showdown begins in earnest today but who will go the distance or deliver a knockout blow is anyone’s guess.

By the end of the week we could be in snap election territory - and that really would be a game changer.

Watch this space.

How is Brexit going to affect Kent? For all the latest news, views and analysis visit our dedicated page here.