James Cleverly has become the frontrunner of the Conservative leadership race after Tom Tugendhat was knocked out yesterday.
The shadow home secretary jumped from third to first place with 39 votes, leaving Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch fighting it out to make it to the final two.
Robert Jenrick came second in the penultimate ballot with 31 votes — two fewer than the last round — while Kemi Badenoch received 30.
Both Mr Cleverly and Ms Badencoh increased their votes after what was seen as a strong performance at last week's party conference.
Mr Cleverly is now just one vote shy of guaranteeing his place in the final two, having won just under a third of the 121 remaining Tory MPs.
After his position as frontrunner was confirmed, Mr Cleverly said that he was “grateful to all my colleagues for their support” but told his supporters that "the job's not finished" in an attempt to maintain momentum before the final vote in parliament today.
Tom Tugendhat, the shadow security minister, was eliminated from the race having come fourth in the ballot on Tuesday with 20 votes. He thanked those who backed his attempt to replace Rishi Sunak adding: "Our campaign has ended but our commitment to our country continues.”