Priti Patel, a British-Indian Member of Parliament, is expected to enter the Conservative Party leadership race to succeed former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons.
Patel, 52, is a senior Tory MP who has previously served as Home Secretary and International Development Secretary under former Prime Ministers Theresa May and Boris Johnson. She is considered a potential frontrunner in the race, having quietly assembled a campaign team and secured support from key Conservative MPs and donors.
Sunak, 44, announced his resignation as Opposition Leader on July 5th after the Labour Party’s landslide victory in the general election earlier this month. He will attend the State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday as the interim Opposition Leader until the 1922 Committee finalizes the guidelines for the leadership contest in the coming weeks.
Patel is expected to face competition from other former Cabinet ministers, including fellow Indian-origin colleague Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick. The current frontrunner is seen as shadow minister Kemi Badenoch, with Tom Tugendhat also expected to contest.
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As part of her leadership plans, Patel is believed to have appointed a treasurer for her campaign and former Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) staff with experience of past leadership elections. She is also expected to have lined up several high-profile donors who have given money to the party in the past.
Patel, whose parents are of Gujarati-Ugandan descent, has been a vocal critic of Sunak’s government’s high taxation policies and is expected to campaign on a platform of tax cuts and a more conservative agenda.
If elected, Patel would become the first woman of color to lead the Conservative Party and the official Opposition in the House of Commons. Her potential ascension to the leadership role would mark a significant milestone for the UK’s political landscape.