Our Bureau
London
Former British Home Secretary Priti Patel announced her candidacy for the leadership of the Conservative Party on Saturday, becoming the fifth candidate to join the race to succeed Rishi Sunak. Sunak resigned following the party’s worst electoral performance in history earlier this month but will remain as acting leader until a successor is chosen.
Patel, who is the first woman and of Indian descent to enter the contest, unveiled her campaign under the slogan “Unite to Win,” aiming to address the divisions within the party that have emerged during its 14 years in power. She emphasized her commitment to transforming the Conservatives into a “winning machine” for future elections.
“It is time to put unity before personal vendetta, country before party, and delivery before self-interest,” she said in a statement.
Priti Patel resigned from her position as International Development Secretary in 2017 following revelations of undisclosed meetings with Israeli officials that violated diplomatic protocols. Despite this controversy, she returned to government in 2019 as the Interior Minister under Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Before her cabinet roles, Patel served in junior ministerial positions within the Department for Work and Pensions and the Treasury. Since her election to Parliament in 2010, she has also worked in public relations. As the deadline for nominations approaches on Monday, the current candidates for leadership include former security minister Tom Tugendhat, former foreign minister James Cleverly, former work and pensions minister Mel Stride, and former immigration minister Robert Jenrick.
The leadership contest will initially see the party’s elected lawmakers narrow the field to four candidates, who will then present their cases at the Conservative Party conference scheduled for late September.
The Conservative Party of the United Kingdom has announced that the field of candidates vying to become the next party leader will be whittled down to just two contenders. These final two candidates will then be put to a vote of all party members to determine the winner.
The new Conservative leader is scheduled to be named on November 2, 2022, according to the party’s timeline.
