Comment: Labour's outrage towards Boris Johnson is rooted in fear
The campaign to bring back Boris Johnson as Tory leader was last night gathering speed.
As the former PM flew back from a family holiday in the Caribbean, his quickly assembled campaign team was already busy "doing the numbers", trying to work out if the former PM had enough parliamentary support to get through Monday's ballot.
They were said to be surprised at the level of support for Mr Johnson, with some MPs who had turned against him only a short time ago now seemingly desperate to have him back.
Mr Johnson is understood to be keen on a return to the top job. He believes he has unfinished business and that among those considered possible successors for Liz Truss, only he has the skills necessary to turn the Conservatives into an electoral force once again.
Should he be confident of gaining the support of 100 MPs, he is said to be a certainty to run.
And there is good reason to believe he stands an excellent chance of making the comeback of all comebacks.
The Truss administration, albeit over in the blink of an eye, has left many Conservative MPs stunned.
Above all else, it served as a wake up call to those who thought the party had hit rock bottom at the end of Mr Johnson's tenure in Number 10.
Over the past month they have seen their party undergo a dramatic collapse in the polls, suggesting electoral oblivion may well be on the cards at the next general election.
In Westminster, meanwhile, even the very basics of party discipline have fallen apart under a Prime Minister who many of them quickly came to realise was not up to the task.
Among the MPs who did Labour's bidding and ousted him in July, there are those who realise he is the only hope they have of retaining their seats.
Then there are those who loyally stood by Mr Johnson until the bitter end, a list which includes several MPs in the Black Country and Staffordshire.
Should Mr Johnson be left face-to-face with another candidate – any candidate for that matter – and the vote goes to members, there will only be one winner.
Despite all that went on during his time in the highest political office, Mr Johnson remains hugely popular with members.
He is also loved by large sections of the public, which can be seen in today's poll results in the Star showing 50 per cent want him back.
Over the coming days the BBC and Sky will give prime spots to Labour figures expressing how appalled they are at the prospect of Mr Johnson returning.
The Scotch Nationalists – a total irrelevance to all of us in the West Midlands – will waste air time on news bulletins ranting about how much of a disgrace he is.
The real reason for their fury is fear.
Just when they thought they had seen Mr Johnson off, he has popped up on the horizon.
In the months ahead Sir Keir Starmer may well come to realise that rather than revel in Ms Truss's demise, he should really have been doing everything possible to keep her in her place.
