Priti Patel pledges unity in race to replace Rishi Sunak as UK Opposition Leader

London: Priti Patel, the UK’s former home secretary, on Sunday became the first female and Indian-origin candidate to enter the race to replace Rishi Sunak as leader of the Opposition Conservative Party.

The 52-year-old parliamentarian pledged to unite her party and turn the Conservatives into an election “winning machine” once again under her leadership.

The Conservative Party earlier this month faced a historic defeat under the leadership of former prime minister Sunak in the general election.

She now goes head-to-head with former ministers James Cleverley, Tom Tugendhat, Mel Stride and Robert Jenrick, who have all entered the leadership contest formally before Monday’s deadline for nominations.

“It isn’t our heroic members who failed, but politicians’ distraction from public service,” said Patel in a statement announcing her candidacy.

“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,” she said.

She drew on her experience of working with the Tories after another historic defeat to Labour back in 1997 to argue that she has experience working in Opposition and can demonstrate the “resolve and determination” to get the Conservatives back into government as Opposition Leader.

“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,” she said.

Sunak had announced his resignation on July 5 as the Labour Party landslide win unfolded and is now serving as Acting Opposition Leader until November 2, when the new leader will be formally elected following a two-phased election process announced by the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs.

Kemi Badenoch is expected as the second female in the race with another former Indian-origin home secretary, Suella Braverman, believed to be getting the requisite backing of 10 MPs for a possible nomination.

Once the nominations deadline closes on Monday afternoon, the candidates will spend August campaigning ahead of the Tory conference in September – where the whittling down process will begin before the final two candidates battle it out for the party membership’s votes throughout October.

While arguing that the Conservatives should reflect honestly on what went wrong in the July 4 general election which resulted in Labour's Keir Starmer being elected Prime Minister, Patel has called on her party to not let “a soap opera of finger-pointing and self-indulgence” distract from the important task of winning the next general election in five years.

As a former home secretary, she highlights her “pivotal role” in getting more police officers on the streets, bringing in tougher sentences for criminals, fighting people-smuggling gangs and keeping the country safe from terrorist threats.

UK-born Patel, whose parents are of Gujarati-Ugandan descent, has served as international development secretary and home secretary in former Tory Cabinets under Theresa May and Boris Johnson. She was conferred a Damehood in the latter's resignation honours list, moving to the backbenches under Sunak’s premiership and often voicing criticism of his government’s high taxation policies.

She also served as Indian Diaspora Champion in former prime minister David Cameron’s government and recently swore her oath as a re-elected MP in the House of Commons from Witham in Essex.