When a group of MPs were eating dinner in the members’ dining room at the House of Commons two weeks ago they were surprised to be joined by Michael Gove. The environment secretary sat down and began asking them leading questions about the future of the party.

“He was blatantly fishing,” one said. “He asked, ‘How would you feel if we just dropped HS2 and spent the money on local transport links in the Midlands and the north?’ He knows that was going to press my buttons. He was grunting at the right time to make it seem as if he was agreeing with you, without ever committing himself.”

Gove is renowned as polite but MPs knew the score. This was a leadership sounding exercise.