Boris Johnson is being advised to offer Jeremy Hunt the role of chancellor of the exchequer in a bid to bring stability as he tries to cling onto power, it is reported.
The prime minister survived a vote of no confidence 211 to 148 on Monday after months of allegations that he lied over parties in Downing Street.
But he was left humiliated with a cloud over his future after 41% of his own MPs voted to topple him - just 906 days after his 2019 election landslide.
The result is worse than the 117 MPs who tried to oust Theresa May over Brexit - and a body blow to Mr Johnson's authority.
Ms May won 63% of the vote in her own no confidence ballot in December 2018 - but she had to resign just five months later.
Now as he tries to rebuild and create more unity his allies have suggested that Mr Hunt would be a good option as chancellor and could form a "dream team" with the prime minister, reported the Daily Telegraph.
This is based on the idea that Mr Hunt would do a good job at steering the country through a difficult period with people suffering a cost of living crisis.
But at the same time there is no guarantee that Mr Hunt would accept the job of working alongside Mr Johnson who beat him in the 2019 leadership race.
While many MPs publicly supported him, a number of high-profile names, like the former Health Minister, Mr Hunt, urged others to vote him out.
Mr Hunt might well normally be keen to take up the role of chancellor but he has taken a stance of opposing the prime minister and turned down the job of defence secretary after the 2019 election.
He tweeted after the confidence vote: "The Conservative Party must now decide if it wishes to change its leader. Because of the situation in Ukraine this was not a debate I wanted to have now but under our rules we must do that.
"Having been trusted with power, Conservative MPs know in our hearts we are not giving the British people the leadership they deserve. We are not offering the integrity, competence and vision necessary to unleash the enormous potential of our country."
There would also be the question of Rishi Sunak ’s future if Mr Hunt was brought in as chancellor - he would face a demotion despite having stuck behind the prime minister.
Mr Johnson is trying to move forward now with announcements on Brexit and housing as he attempts to get back on the front foot.
And Mr Sunak similarly has now reaffirmed his commitment to cut taxes for business later in the year.
In a speech to the Onward think tank, Mr Sunak said he would be bringing forward a range of measures in the autumn to incentivise investment, according to extracts released by the Treasury.
It follows criticism from groups such as the CBI and Federation of Small Businesses that his cost-of-living support package last month did not include any help for cash-strapped businesses.
In his address, Mr Sunak said that only by Government and the market working together to drive up productivity would it be possible to build a "sustainably high-growth, high-wage economy" in the UK.
"But we must be honest about the longstanding weaknesses hampering our ability to achieve that ... specifically in investment, skills and innovation," he said.
"The growth and productivity challenge is a shared problem. Government and the market need to crack it together."
Mr Sunak said his plan for economic growth was based around three priorities - capital, people and ideas.
"So in the autumn we will be setting out a range of tax cuts and reforms to incentivise businesses to invest more, train more and innovate more," he said.
"Because getting this right won't just mean the 'economy' improves, but real places too."
