Priti Patel, the former UK Home Secretary, has announced her candidacy for the Conservative Party leadership race. This came after being “urged to run” by fellow Members of Parliament (MPs), according to various UK media outlets.
Patel, who has represented Witham in Essex since 2010, retained her seat in the recent UK general election with a reduced majority of 5,145. This marks the first time the 52-year-old has made a bid for the leadership, joining a contest expected to feature Kemi Badenoch, Tom Tugendhat, and possibly Suella Braverman, among others.
Patel has already assembled a campaign team funded by “high-profile” Tory donors. She has hired a respected member of the House of Lords as her campaign treasurer and enlisted former advisers and Conservative Campaign Headquarters staff experienced in past leadership elections, as reported by The Telegraph.
Supporters of Patel believe she is the only candidate who can unite the party and garner support from a broad spectrum of Conservative MPs. Her political career has been marked by both achievements and controversies, having served as International Development Secretary under former Prime Minister Theresa May and as Home Secretary under Boris Johnson. In 2020, Johnson’s adviser on standards, Alex Allan, ruled that Patel had “unintentionally” breached the ministerial code, citing instances of “shouting and swearing.” Despite this, Johnson rejected the findings and expressed “full confidence” in Patel.
A source close to Patel told The Telegraph, “Priti has kept a low profile and done her best to support others. She feels colleagues also need time to digest the general election result and don’t want posturing in the media from prospective candidates.”
The rules and timeline for the leadership contest will be determined by the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbench MPs, which recently appointed Bob Blackman as its new chair. Candidates need to secure the backing of enough MPs to make it into the final two, who will then be voted on by party members.
While some senior Tories advocate for a swift contest to avoid further damage to the party’s public image, others suggest a more prolonged process to allow candidates to present their visions thoroughly. UK Shadow Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell proposed that Rishi Sunak should remain as leader until November to provide stability, as reported by Sky News.
Patel’s entrance into the leadership race adds another dynamic element to an already competitive field, with her campaign likely to emphasize unity and broad-based support within the Conservative Party.