Rory Stewart crashed out of the Tory leadership battle tonight as Boris Johnson staged another surge in the third round of voting.
The Cabinet minister was dramatically axed from the contest after coming last with just 27 votes - down from 37 - leaving four hopefuls left to fight it out.
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson picked up support from Dominic Raab, who was evicted yesterday, to increase his tally again from 126 to 143 - tightening his grip on the keys to Downing Street.
Earlier it emerged that International Development Secretary Mr Stewart had offered to make Michael Gove Chancellor in a desperate bid to save himself.
However, the discussions between the pair seem to have gone nowhere as they both believe they should be the candidate to face off against Boris Johnson for the keys to Downing Street.
Mr Gove secured four votes more than Mr Stewart in the ballot last night, coming third behind Mr Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, and has dismissed calls to stand aside.
Mr Hunt managed to keep his nose ahead of Mr Gove in second tonight, by 54 to 51.
Mr Johnson - who is celebrating his 55th birthday - has been adding to his huge list of 126 supporters after Brexiteer Dominic Raab was knocked out yesterday.
Mr Raab had 30 votes, and pledged his support for Mr Johnson today saying he was the 'only man to deliver Brexit on time'. His close allies Nadhim Zahawi and Andrea Jenkyns have also declared for Mr Johnson as he moves towards a seemingly inevitable victory.
Mr Stewart and Mr Javid had 37 and 33 respectively in the previous ballot, but the balance shifted towards Mr Javid after he put in a strong showing in the TV debate last night.
He went up to 38 today, while Mr Stewart - who admitted after the debate that he had 'struggled' - went into reverse.
Rory Stewart (pictured leaving TV studios in London today) declared he was in talks with Michael Gove about 'combining forces', saying he was determined the front runner should face a 'test' in the head-to-head
Boris Johnson was spotted at Parliament after casting his vote in the third round of the Tory leadership contest today - as he tightens his grip on Downing Street
Mr Gove (pictured at Parliament this afternoon) secured four votes more than Mr Stewart in the ballot last night, and there is no sign he is ready to make way
Home Secretary Sajid Javid posted a photo of himself voting in the Commons with some of his MP supporters this afternoon
The BBC TV debate quickly descended into furious squabbling, with presenter Emily Maitlis struggling to keep control
The Tory leadership candidates will be hoping to improve on their performance in last night's second round of voting (pictured) when MPs return to the ballot box today
Earlier, Mr Hunt, who came second yesterday with 46 votes, swiped that he has no idea what Mr Johnson 'believes' on Brexit.
The Foreign Secretary delivered a stinging assault on Mr Johnson for lacking 'judgement' - suggesting he had not 'thought through' his position.
Sources had suggested Mr Hunt was resigned to being leapfrogged in this bout by Mr Gove, as he was more likely to gain from Mr Raab's exit. However, in the event he managed to stay ahead.
Interviewed on Sky News today, Mr Stewart said: 'I feel it would be great to get into that final two, to persuade Sajid and Michael and Jeremy to join forces with me so that we can make sensible, reasonable arguments to keep our party together and keep our country together.'
Asked if he was ready to quit and back someone else, Mr Stewart said: 'This is the problem. It is always the problem of politician's egos.
Boris Johnson was hammered over his Iran blunder, Muslim veil jibes and tax cuts for the wealthy in a bad-tempered and chaotic TV debate last night - but vowed he will take Britain out of the EU by Halloween.
The former foreign secretary came under fire from all sides as he lined up alongside Rory Stewart, Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove and Sajid Javid for the hour-long session at the BBC studios in London.
But no clear winner emerged, with viewers enraged at the way the candidates dodged questions, as well as the bizarre format set by the corporation.
Buoyed by topping the ballot of MPs earlier, Mr Johnson kicked off proceedings by setting out his stall on Brexit, insisting the UK must leave the EU by the end of October.
'We must come out on the 31st October because otherwise I am afraid we face a catastrophic loss of confidence in politics,' he said.
'We have already kicked the can down the road twice and I think the British people are getting thoroughly fed up.'
The exchanges quickly descended into furious squabbling, with presenter Emily Maitlis struggling to keep control as Mr Hunt and Mr Gove insisted they were ready to push the schedule back if a 'few more days' were needed to finalise a deal with the EU.
Mr Stewart, who removed his tie as the debate heated up, accused his colleagues of 'staring at the wall' rather than walking through the 'door' - which was to support the deal Mrs May had already thrashed out over two years. 'Let's get on with it,' he said, adding that No Deal was 'not possible'.
'I would say to them that I am massively out polling them with all the key target groups we need, with 18 to 45 year-olds, with Scotland, with London, and we have to think about how to win an election.'
Sources on Mr Stewart's campaign said: 'Any team that gets combined, Rory wants to lead it.'
Mr Johnson's team is breathing a sigh of relief after he emerged relatively unscathed from the TV debate last night, despite being hammered over his Iran blunder, Muslim veil jibes and tax cuts for the wealthy.
The former foreign secretary came under fire from all sides as he lined up alongside second-placed Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Mr Stewart and Mr Javid Javid for the hour-long session at the BBC studios in London.
But no clear winner emerged, with viewers enraged at the way the candidates dodged questions, as well as the bizarre format set by the corporation.
The BBC is also facing a crisis over allowing an Imam to ask a question who has previous on social media blaming women for rape, praising Corbyn and attacking Jews.
Mr Johnson took the opportunity to set out his stall on Brexit, insisting the UK must leave the EU by the end of October.
'We must come out on the 31st October because otherwise I am afraid we face a catastrophic loss of confidence in politics,' he said.
'We have already kicked the can down the road twice and I think the British people are getting thoroughly fed up.'
He did fail to raise his hand when presenter Emily Maitlis asked the hopefuls to signal whether they would guarantee Brexit by October 31 - although aides insisted his position was clear.
Mr Hunt tried to capitalise on the apparent wavering today, telling BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'Well, I am not entirely sure what he believes on this, having listened to him last night.
'You have to think these things through because prime ministers have to make these judgments.'
Mr Hunt said he was best placed to cut a deal with Brussels on Brexit, implying that Mr Johnson would not be 'trusted' by Brussels.
'We need a negotiator,' he said. 'A negotiator has to have three qualities. The first is it has to be someone the other side trust, because you don't do a deal with somebody you don't trust.
'Secondly, it has got to be someone who doesn't blink.
'And thirdly, it has got to be somebody who is prepared to walk away.
'Now, the danger is that if we
