Boris Johnson may have been defeated in his bid to trigger a general election but there aren't many people who think that the country won’t be going to the polls sooner rather than later.

The announcement from the Sevenoaks MP Sir Michael Fallon that he is to stand down is as good a pointer as you could ask for.

The Prime Minister has had what by any measure has been a challenging few days, with as much criticism coming his way from his own party as it has from the opposition.

The best that can be said about his track record on parliamentary votes is that at least he has been consistent - albeit by virtue of losing them all.

There is a growing backlash within the Conservative Party over the influence of the prime minister's chief aide Dominic Cummings, who is succeeding in rubbing many loyal Conservatives up the wrong way.

A measure of the disdain that some MPs have for Mr Cummings is the uncompromising attack on him by the Thanet North MP Sir Roger Gale. He said he should be sacked and warned that he might consider standing at the election as an independent candidate if Mr Cummings remained in his role.

Meanwhile, there has been criticism of Mr Johnson's decision to withdraw the whip from 21 MPs who rebelled on the the no-deal Brexit vote. The Ashford MP Damian Green has said it amounts to a purge of moderates and the way it has been handled has been “monstrously unfair.”

If there is some consolation for the Conservatives it is that Labour’s position on a general election has appeared increasingly contradictory.

Now that the bill to block a no-deal Brexit looks like getting on the statute books, a key precondition for backing a poll has been met and it will look extremely odd if it continues to resist it.

You may not want it, the parties may not want it - but it seems the only way to break the political deadlock is to go to the people.

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