At the weekend, one observer of the Johnson-Cummings saga said that talk of a leadership contest was "very premature" at this stage.
Just a few days on, such a proposition no longer seems so incredible.
Some might look at the last few days at Westminster and wonder why the Prime Minister, having rid himself of this turbulent priest once, has not been able to wholly cut him out of his life.
In truth, the two men sink or swim together. In the eyes of some Tory backbenchers, it was Cummings, more than Johnson, who won the EU referendum and the last General Election. Johnson’s problem is that he suspects that is true.
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