The revelation was made by LBC radio’s political commentator Theo Usherwood on Nigel Farage’s LBC show just minutes after Rory Stewart was dropped from the competition in a shock twist. Mr Usherwood said: “Team Boris wants to get rid of Michael Gove. And I think we could see that move tomorrow lunchtime.

“This is where tactical voting is going to start in earnest. “So they already got rid of one that they wanted to get rid of which was Rory Stewart. “They now need to target Gove. “And given the numbers involved it doesn’t require that much of a shift given that we can expect some of the Rory Stewart voters to go to Sajid Javid and others will go to Jeremy Hunt.

“We could easily expect it would take seven or eight Boris Johnson supporters to simply go and tick the box for Sajid Javid, with the uplift from a few of Rory Stewart’s supporters. “And he could supplant Michael Gove tomorrow lunchtime in third place. “And if that happens that will be a victory for Boris.

Rory Stewart's hopes of becoming the next prime minister were dashed after his support collapsed in the third round of voting by Tory MPs. The International Development Secretary secured just 27 votes - down 10 from Tuesday's second ballot - as Boris Johnson again took a commanding lead in the race to Number 10. Former foreign secretary Mr Johnson appears assured of being one of the two candidates who will face a vote by 160,000 Tory members to choose the next party leader and prime minister after extending his lead over nearest rival Jeremy Hunt. Mr Johnson received 143 votes, up from 126 on Tuesday, with Mr Hunt on 54, up from 46. Michael Gove was in third place, up 10 from 41 to 51 votes, while Sajid Javid picked up five extra votes to reach 38. </s> British Conservative party leadership and prime minister contender Boris Johnson leaves his home in south London, Thursday June 20, 2019. The race to become Britain’s next prime minister is down to the final four on Wednesday, as Boris Johnson stretched his lead among Conservative lawmakers and upstart Rory Stewart was eliminated from the contest. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

LONDON (AP) — The Latest on choosing Britain’s next prime minister (all times local):

Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt will compete to become Britain’s next prime minister in a runoff vote by members of the governing Conservative Party.

Johnson, a former U.K. foreign secretary, and Hunt, who holds that office now, are the last candidates standing after a series of elimination votes by Conservative lawmakers. Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Environment Secretary Michael Gove were culled from the race on Thursday.

Johnson got 160 of the votes cast by 313 Tory lawmakers in the final round, and is strong favorite to win the ballot of some 160,000 party members.

Hunt, who got 77 votes, will seek to halt Johnson’s momentum by picking away at Johnson’s plans for Brexit as the two speak to meetings of party members across the country.

The winner is due to be announced in late July, and will replace Theresa May as party leader and prime minister.

The contest to become Britain’s next prime minister is down to its final three candidates, with Environment Secretary Michael Gove and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt chasing front-runner Boris Johnson for a spot in a deciding runoff.

Johnson gained 157 of 313 votes cast by Conservative lawmakers Thursday in their fourth round of voting. Gove received 61, leapfrogging Hunt, who has been in second place until now but got 59.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid came fourth with 34 votes and drops out.

A second vote Thursday will select the final two contenders, who will go to a by-mail ballot of all 160,000 Conservative Party members nationwide.

The winner is due to be announced in late July, and will replace Theresa May as party leader and prime minister.

Britain’s governing Conservatives were set to pick two candidates who will square off to become the country’s next prime minister.

Tory lawmakers will vote to eliminate two contenders from a four-strong field that includes ex-foreign minister and London mayor Boris Johnson, current Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Environment Secretary Michael Gove and Home Secretary Sajid Javid.

Johnson has a commanding lead after three rounds of voting that cut the list from an initial 10 contenders. The three others are battling to join him in a runoff to be decided by 160,000 Conservative Party members nationwide.

All the candidates are vowing to lead Britain out of the European Union, a challenge that defeated outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May. She quit as Conservative leader earlier this month after failing to win Parliament’s backing for her Brexit deal.

The winner of the contest, due to be announced the week of July 22, will become Conservative leader and prime minister.

Follow AP’s full coverage of Brexit and the Conservative Party leadership race at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit </s> LONDON, June 20 — Boris Johnson, the front-runner in the race to become Britain’s next prime minister, increased his support among lawmakers in the fourth round of the Conservative Party leadership contest today.

Johnson got 157 out of 313 votes. Environment minister Michael Gove came second with 61 votes, overtaking Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who got 59 votes.

Interior minister Sajid Javid was fourth with 34 votes and was eliminated from the contest. Two votes were declared invalid.

A fifth ballot later today will determine the final two candidates. Then Conservative Party grassroots members will decide who will become leader, and Britain’s next prime minister, by the end of July. — Reuters </s> • Sajid Javid was eliminated from the race to replace Theresa May as Conservative Party leader and prime minister.
• The home secretary fell out in the fourth round of voting after losing support from Conservative MPs.
• The race for second place behind Boris Johnson is now between Jeremy Hunt and Michael Gove.

LONDON – Sajid Javid has been eliminated from the race to replace Theresa May as Conservative Party leader and prime minister.

The home secretary received fewer votes than his three rivals in a secret ballot on Thursday morning, with support consolidating around Jeremy Hunt and Michael Gove, the two candidates who colleagues believe are best-placed to take on Boris Johnson in the final two.

Boris Johnson once again topped the poll, winning 157 votes from Conservative MPs, while Michael Gove jumped into sceond place with 61 votes. Hunt, who placed second in the first three rounds of voting, placed third with 59 votes.

Two of the votes were spoilt ballots.

A fourth and final round of voting will take place on Thursday evening, where the third-placed candidate will be knocked out. The result is due at around 18.15 GMT.

One from the remaining two candidates will then be selected as the next Conservative leader in July by the party’s 160,000-or-so members.

The winner will be announced on July 22.

Javid, who was seen as an outsider in the leadership race, played a prominent role in the contest, winning plaudits for making all other candidates agree to hold an independent inquiry into Islamophobia in the party if they become prime minister.

He was appointed as Home Secretary in 2018, and has also served as Business Secretary and Culture Secretary. </s> The Latest: UK prime minister pool cut to 4, Johnson at top

LONDON (AP) — The Latest on Conservative Party voting to pick Britain's next prime minister (all times local):

The contest to become Britain's next prime minister is down to four candidates, with Boris Johnson building on his commanding lead in a Conservative Party vote.

Johnson gained 143 of 313 votes cast by Conservative lawmakers Wednesday in their third round of voting.

He's being chased by Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Environment Secretary Michael Gove and Home Secretary Sajid Javid.

International Development Secretary Rory Stewart, a longshot candidate who energized the race, received the fewest votes and drops out.

Two more votes are scheduled for Thursday to whittle the field down to two. The final two contenders will go to a by-mail ballot of all 160,000 Conservative Party members nationwide.

The winner is due to be announced in late July, and will replace Theresa May as party leader and prime minister.

Britain's Conservative Party is set to kick one more candidate out of the contest to become the country's next prime minister, as rivals scramble to catch front-runner Boris Johnson.

The five-strong field will be narrowed in elimination votes by Tory lawmakers Wednesday and Thursday, with the two top candidates going to a runoff of party members across the country.

One of the remaining candidates, International Development Secretary Rory Stewart, says he is talking to Environment Secretary Michael Gove about combining forces. He says the question is "who is best able to politely and respectfully defeat Boris Johnson."

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Home Secretary Sajid Javid are also in the race.

The winner, due to be announced in late July, will replace Theresa May as Conservative leader and prime minister.

Follow AP's full coverage of Brexit and the Conservative Party leadership race at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit </s> Sajid Javid has become the latest candidate to exit the Conservative party leadership race, with the home secretary coming last in the fourth round of voting by Tory MPs, behind Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Jeremy Hunt.

With all 313 MPs again casting votes, Mr Johnson was once more the clear winner, on 157 votes, with Mr Gove overtaking Nr Hunt into second place, with 61 votes to 59. Mr Javid was fourth on 34 votes. Two ballots were spoiled.

The focus now shifts to a fifth and final round of votes, in which the final two will be selected, who will be put to a vote of Conservative party members. In effect, this will be a run-off between Mr Gove and Mr Hunt for the right to face Mr Johnson. The result will come at 6pm.

The final two will then undertake a long series of hustings events with party members around the country before the winner takes over from Theresa May as Tory leader and prime minister on July 22nd.

The result is something of a blow for Mr Hunt, with backers of the foreign secretary seeking to immediately rally support for him. Penny Mordaunt, the defence secretary, said Mr Hunt being in the final two would avoid the drama of a new showdown between Mr Johnson and Mr Gove, who fell out over the 2016 leadership battle.

“That doesn’t necessarily mean the best entertainment for journalists, but for people who are going to focus on the issues, the policies, and set out a vision for the party,” she said.

A source in the Hunt camp said: “Boris and Michael are great candidates but we have seen their personal psychodrama before: it’s time to offer the country someone the EU will actually talk to.”

One of the challenges for Mr Johnson will be to convince Tory members he is serious about making Brexit happen on October 31st.

On Thursday Mr Johnson was formally endorsed by London’s Evening Standard, edited by the remain-backing former chancellor George Osborne, with an editorial in the newspaper predicting that Mr Johnson would end up persuading the Commons to “vote for a repacked version of the existing deal”.

In a verdict unlikely to go down well among hard Brexiters – or Mr Johnson’s camp – the editorial noted that he had pointedly not completely guaranteed an exit on October 31st, and was the candidate with the most room to manoeuvre.

Theresa May is travelling to Brussels for a European council summit and will miss the second vote. She has entrusted a proxy vote to Charles Walker, the acting co-chair of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tories, which is organising the contest.

During the two-hour voting process, Mr Javid arrived with a series of MPs who have supported him and they posed for a photo in the corridor near committee room 14, where the voting took place. Mr Javid told reporters only that he was “hopeful” of progressing.

His exit from the race follows that of Rory Stewart, the international development minister, in the third round of voting on Wednesday. – Guardian </s> Boris Johnson's supporters are plotting to 'humiliate' Michael Gove and derail his leadership campaign today.

Mr Gove has never been forgiven for betraying Mr Johnson in the 2016 leadership contest.

And now MPs loyal to Mr Johnson are plotting the environment secretary's downfall, with one Johnson supporter saying they want him 'humiliated,' as reported by The Telegraph.

It comes as Bojo's team have also approached Sajid Javid - who came fourth in the ballot yesterday - to become chancellor, according to allies of the home secretary.

Yesterday, maverick leadership hopeful Rory Stewart was dramatically booted from the contest after coming last with just 27 votes - down from 37 on Monday - leaving four hopefuls left to fight it out.

Mr Johnson picked up support from Dominic Raab, who was evicted in the previous round, to increase his tally again from 126 to 143 - tightening his grip on the keys to Downing Street.

While Hunt came second with 54 votes, Gove came third with 51, and Javid on 38.

Finishing a disappointing fourth, Mr Javid insisted last night he was still in the race to become Prime Minister.

But Mr Johnson's team have already approached the home secretary and offered 'all sorts of jobs up to that of chancellor', if he drops out the race and backs Boris, as reported by The Times.

The remaining candidates not named Johnson are now desperately vying for Rory Stewart's backers, with pressure being put on them to support Mr Hunt to leave Mr Gove isolated.

Johnson supporters are thought to believe that facing Mr Hunt in the final two would be easier than taking on Mr Gove.

Many of Johnson's team have a 'visceral hatred' for the environment secretary and were directly accused by Mr Stewart of dirty tricks yesterday.

Speaking ahead of the vote, he told reporters the former defence secretary Gavin Williamson, who is organising Mr Johnson's campaign, was encouraging Johnson-supporting MPs to lend their votes to other candidates to manipulate the contest in a bid to determine who he would face in the final run-off.

He told reporters: 'There's also the dark arts. Gavin Williamson's proxy votes, which we don't know about.

'There are dark arts in politics and they're done with proxy votes, they're not done with someone saying 'would you please vote for this person'.'

Some Tory MPs last night said they suspected the Johnson camp of lending support to Mr Stewart in Tuesday's vote in order to get rid of Brexiteer rival Dominic Raab. </s> Tory leadership contender Rory Stewart has revealed he is in talks with Environment Secretary Michael Gove about “combining forces” in the battle to be next prime minister.

The International Development Secretary said discussions centred on who would be best placed to challenge Boris Johnson in the run-off between the last two candidates left standing.

Mr Stewart told the BBC: “We are talking about combining forces because it’s clear that Boris is going into the last round.

“And the question is ‘who is best placed to sit on stage with Boris Johnson, and who is best placed to ask the testing questions that need to be asked?'”

Mr Stewart said he and Mr Gove would need to discuss how to get a Brexit deal through, adding: “We would have to agree to compromise and if neither of us were prepared to budge on our analysis of the situation then, of course, we couldn’t combine as a team.”

However, Mr Stewart’s camp made clear that if he did form a pact with Mr Gove, it would be the International Development Secretary who would want to remain in the race.

A campaign spokeswoman said: “Clearly at some point people will need to combine teams.

“But any team that gets combined, Rory wants to lead it. Rory’s in this to win.”

A Gove campaign source said: “We are in it to win it and we would obviously welcome the support of any candidate that wanted to drop out and support us.”

Mr Stewart nearly doubled his backing to 37 votes in Tuesday’s second ballot of Tory MPs, leaving him just four votes behind Mr Gove.

The move came as fellow leadership hopeful Jeremy Hunt took a swipe at Mr Johnson’s Brexit stance, insisting his rival has an unclear policy and suggesting he is not trusted in Brussels.

The Foreign Secretary said he was “not entirely sure” what the front-runner in the race to become the next prime minister believes when it comes to when Britain will leave the EU.

In a televised debate on Tuesday evening, Mr Johnson said the October 31 deadline for Brexit must be met, warning that otherwise there would be a “catastrophic loss of confidence in politics”.

But Mr Hunt accused the former foreign secretary of lacking clarity on whether he guaranteed delivering Brexit by the end of October.

He told 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, who came second in the second Tory leadership ballot on Tuesday, also said he was best placed to cut a deal with Brussels on Brexit, saying: “We need a negotiator.”

He said a negotiator has 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 choose the wrong person now, we will have no trust, no negotiation, no deal, and possibly, if we have an election, no Brexit.”

Another candidate will face the axe on Wednesday afternoon – with Mr Johnson, Mr Hunt, Mr Gove, Mr Stewart and Sajid Javid battling it out for the top job.

The first debate on Tuesday night is unlikely to have swayed many MPs’ minds, ending with no clear winner after a fractious debate taking in Brexit, Islamophobia and climate change.

However, Mr Gove claimed he “won the debate” on BBC Newsnight, “because I had the most detailed answers and I have a clear plan to how we can deliver Brexit and make sure we get all the benefits of life outside the European Union”.

As the candidate who currently has the fewest number of backers, there are rumours Mr Javid could drop out, but supporter Stephen Crabb told the BBC his favoured candidate had performed well in the debates and was not about to quit.

“Did Sajid Javid look like a man who’s about to throw in the towel or about to be knocked out of the contest?” Mr Crabb said.

“He fought tonight, I thought he gave – in a difficult format – he gave a good display of what he can offer the country.”

During the BBC debate, Mr Johnson’s rivals had rounded on him over his ambition to give people earning more than £50,000 a tax cut.

Just hours after winning the second round of voting among Tory MPs – which saw Mr Raab eliminated – Mr Johnson faced his opponents in a TV studio for the first time, having ducked the previous televised debate.

He came under fire for his tax plans, and was also taken to task over his comments comparing veiled Muslim women to “letterboxes” and “bank robbers”. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Rory Stewart knocked out of contest

Four men are left in the race to be next prime minister after Rory Stewart was knocked out.

The international development secretary was eliminated after coming last with 27 votes, 10 fewer than last time.

He said his warnings about a no-deal Brexit "probably proved to be truths people weren't quite ready to hear".

Boris Johnson topped the vote again with 143 votes, 17 more than last time. Jeremy Hunt came second with 54, Michael Gove got 51 and Sajid Javid 38.

A fourth round of voting will take place on Thursday.

Mr Stewart started as a rank outsider in the race but gained support on the back of an unusual campaign strategy.

Touring the country for pop-up meetings, which were promoted and recorded on social media, he drew large crowds and won the backing of several senior cabinet ministers.

He had accused other candidates, including Mr Johnson, of lacking realism over Brexit and making undeliverable promises.

After his elimination, he tweeted that he had been "inspired" by the support he received which had rekindled his faith and belief in politics.

Mr Stewart's vote tally fell from Tuesday - following a live BBC TV debate in which he summed up his own performance as "lacklustre".

There have also been suggestions of tactical voting - "dark arts" as he called them - with candidates lending votes to others in order to help eliminate certain rivals.

One MP supporting Mr Stewart claimed he had been "let down" by "thieving, mendacious, lying" colleagues who had switched.

Following his exit, Mr Stewart - MP for Penrith and The Border - told the BBC he was "disappointed" and believed his party "didn't seem ready to hear his message" about Brexit and the need to seek out the centre ground.

He said his arguments during the campaign that an alternative Brexit deal was not on offer from the EU, and a no deal would be catastrophic, were "probably truths people were not quite ready to hear, but I still think they are truths".

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Stewart: Tories 'not ready' for no-deal warnings

He defended his attacks on Mr Johnson, saying the gravity of the situation meant it was right to warn that the frontrunner risked "letting down" his supporters over Brexit.

"These are the times to ask these questions, but I agree they are uncomfortable questions," he said.

"People felt they were exposing divisions in the party they were not comfortable with.

"My conclusion is that you don't unify a family or a party by pretending to agree when you disagree. You unify through honesty and trust."

Mr Stewart, who has ruled out serving under Mr Johnson because of their differences over Brexit, added "I appear to have written my cabinet resignation letter."

He said he had not decided who to now support.

Home Secretary Mr Javid, who leapfrogged Mr Stewart in Wednesday's poll after gaining five votes on his second round tally, thanked Mr Stewart for his contribution to the campaign.

Mr Javid said he was pleased to make it through into the next round, adding that he could provide "constructive competition" to frontrunner Boris Johnson if he made it into the final two.

"People are crying out for change, if we don't offer change ourselves, they'll vote for change in the form of Corbyn - and I can be that agent of change", he said.

Reacting to his third consecutive second place, Mr Hunt said the "stakes were too high to allow someone to sail through untested".

Liam Fox, who is backing Foreign Secretary Mr Hunt, said the surviving candidates were the four most experienced men in the field and this is what people expected all along.

Tory MP Johnny Mercer, who is backing Mr Johnson, insisted there was "no complacency" despite his large lead, telling BBC News "there is still work to do".

Education Secretary Damian Hinds said Mr Gove had "closed the gap" on Mr Hunt in second place and was gaining momentum.

He said the environment secretary had the experience, the vision and the plan to deliver Brexit that could unite the country.

Unless another candidate drops out, there will be a fifth ballot on Thursday evening to determine the final two candidates who will go forward into a run-off of the party's 160,000 or so members.

The winner will be announced in the week of 22 July.
Rory Stewart is eliminated after coming in fifth place in today's third round voting. The front runner remains Boris Johnson. Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, and Sajid Javid came in second, third, and fourth respectively. A fourth round will be taken tomorrow.