Crabb's votes to determine whether Leadsom or Gove face May in Tory membership vote

Stephen Crabb's votes might be crucial in determining who faces Theresa May in the final Tory leadership showdown Credit: PA

So Theresa May undoubtedly goes through to the ballot of 150k Tory members, having got support from half of Tory MPs.

And Liam Fox is formally out, while Stephen Crabb will either bow out before the next poll of MPs on Thurs or will be eliminated then.

And that is where the fun starts, the battle to the death of the two Brexiteers, Leadsom and Gove.

Leadsom came second with 66 votes and Gove was 18 votes behind with 48.

So to state the bleedin' obvious, unless Leadsom picks up every single one of Fox's votes, which seems highly unlikely - as some will surely go to Gove - it is Crabb's votes that will decide this contest.

Now Crabb, like May, is a remainer. So you would think that his votes would gravitate to May.

Stephen Crabb's votes might be crucial in determining who faces Theresa May in the final Tory leadership showdown Credit: PA

So on that law of political gravity, the final battle for Tory members' votes would be between May and Leadsom.

But there is absolutely no doubt that Leadsom is a more dangerous threat to May in that final run-off than Gove would be.

So in the nasty, dirty, disreputable world of parliamentary elections, May's people may well be nudging the Crabbies to back Gove.

Or to put it another way, Gove isn't out of the race yet - though, to be clear, I don't see how he ends up as PM on any plausible scenario.

PS Stephen Crabb has just pulled out. All the above holds.

PPS Decision of Crabb and Fox to back May is almost certainly lethal to Gove. So the run off must surely be May versus Leadsom - which will be a proper battle between experience and Brexit ideology.