Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel has said it is “time to put unity before personal vendetta” as she threw her hat into the ring for the Tory party leadership.
Entering the increasingly crowded field to replace Rishi Sunak, the senior Conservative MP laid the blame for their worst-ever defeat on 4 July not on the “heroic” party members, but the politicians who “fell out and left us short”.
Dame Priti is the fifth candidate but the first woman to formally announce she is joining the race for the top job, with Mel Stride, Tom Tugendhat, James Cleverly and Robert Jenrick already having declared.
Announcing her decision on X, Dame Priti wrote: “I am standing to be the new Leader of the Conservative Party.
“I can lead us in opposition and unite our party and get us match fit for the next election, with unity, experience and strength.”
After the turmoil and bitter in-fighting which dogged the Tories in government, she stressed she had the experience and resilience to unite the party and get it “match fit”.
While arguing the Conservatives should reflect on what went wrong at the polls that saw it reduced to just 121 MPs at Westminster, Dame Priti argued the party cannot let “a soap opera of finger pointing and self-indulgence” distract from the goal of winning the next election.
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She insisted “authentic” conservative values such defending freedom, promoting enterprise, keeping people safe and spreading opportunity remained popular with the public.
And it was “competent, grown-up and experienced politicians” who put these into practice that would help the Conservatives regain power.
Seeking to distinguish herself from her rivals, Dame Priti said members would be rewarded for their loyalty under her leadership with a greater voice in policy and the direction of the party, including helping to elect the Tory chairman, who is currently appointed by the leader.
Dame Priti said: “It isn’t our heroic members who failed, but politicians’ distraction from public service.
“We must now turn our conservative values into strong policies to bring about positive change for people across our country.
“It is time to put unity before personal vendetta, country before party, and delivery before self-interest.
“I have done this throughout my 30-plus years of service to our Party, in both government and opposition. I can get us match fit to win the next general election.”
Read more:
Tom Tugendhat joins race to replace Sunak
James Cleverly kicks off Tory leadership race
Robert Jenrick throws his hat in the ring
Mel Stride becomes fourth Tory MP to enter contest
Shadow communities secretary Kemi Badenoch, the bookmakers’ favourite to succeed Mr Sunak, and former home secretary Suella Braverman are expected to put themselves forward before nominations close at 2.30pm on Monday.
Contenders need a proposer, seconder and eight other backers to stand.
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The parliamentary party will narrow the field down to four, who will make their case at the Conservative Party conference, which runs from 29 September to 2 October.
The final two, picked by the parliamentary party, will then go to a vote of party members in an online ballot that will close on 31 October with the result announced on 2 November.
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According to polling by Savanta carried out between 19 and 21 July, Mr Tugendhat is the most popular potential contender among both the public, at minus three points, and 2024 Conservative voters, at 21 points.
Dame Priti was the least popular, at minus 28 points and seven points respectively, according to the research.
Mr Cleverly is second in the running, Savanta’s findings suggest, at minus nine points with the public and 19 points among 2024 Conservative voters.
