Former Home Secretary Dame Priti Patel said it is “time to put unity before personal vendetta” as she throws her hat into the ring for the leadership of the Tory party.
Entering the increasingly crowded field to replace Rishi Sunakthe senior Conservative MP laid the blame for his worst defeat ever on 4th of July not at “heroic” party members, but at politicians who “fell out and left us at a disadvantage.”
Lady Priti is the fifth candidate but the first woman to formally announce she is joining the race for the top job, with Honey Step, Tom Tugendhat, Tiago Intelligently It is Robert Jenrick having already declared.
Announcing her decision on X, Dame Priti wrote: “I am running to be the new leader of the Conservative Party.
“I can lead us in opposition and unite our party and prepare for the next elections, with unity, experience and strength.”
After the turmoil and bitter infighting that dogged the Conservatives in government, she emphasized that she had the experience and resilience to unite the party and make it “proper”.
When discussing the Conservatives should reflect on what went wrong at the polls that reduced it to just 121 MPs at Westminster, Dame Priti argued that the party cannot allow “a soap opera of finger-pointing and self-indulgence” to divert attention from the goal of winning the next election.
She insisted that “authentic” conservative values such as defending freedom, promoting entrepreneurship, keeping people safe and spreading opportunity remain popular with the public.
And it was “competent, adult and experienced politicians” who put into practice these measures 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 say in party policy and direction, including helping to elect the Conservative president, who is currently nominated by the leader.
Dame Priti said: “It was not our heroic members who failed, but the distraction of politicians from the civil service.
“We must now turn our conservative values into strong policies to bring positive change for people across our country.
“It is time to put unity before personal revenge, country before party and surrender before self-interest.
“I have done this throughout my more than 30 years of service to our Party, both in government and in opposition. I can leave us in a position to win the next general election.”
See more information:
Tom Tugendhat enters race to replace Sunak
James Cleverly kicks off Conservative leadership race
Robert Jenrick throws his hat into the ring
Mel Stride becomes the fourth Conservative MP to enter the race
Shadow Communities Secretary Kemi Badenochthe bookmakers’ favorite to succeed Sunak, and former home secretary Suella Braverman They are expected to present themselves before nominations close at 2:30 pm on Monday.
Candidates need one proposer, one supporter and eight other supporters to run for office.
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The parliamentary party will narrow the field to four, who will present their position at the Conservative Party conference, which runs from 29 September to 2 October.
The two finalists, chosen by the parliamentary party, will then be voted on by supporters in an online ballot that will end on October 31st with the result announced on November 2.
According to the Savanta poll conducted between July 19 and 21, Tugendhat is the most popular potential candidate among the public, with minus three points, and among 2024 conservative voters, with 21 points.
Dame Priti was the least popular, with minus 28 points and seven points respectively, according to the survey.
Cleverly is second in the race, Savanta’s findings suggest, minus nine points among the public and minus 19 points among 2024 conservative voters.
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