Priti among six in race to succeed Sunak as UK Opposition leader

London, September 2

British Indian former home secretary Priti Patel is among six candidates making their leadership pitches to succeed Rishi Sunak as Conservative Party chief and Opposition Leader as the UK Parliament resumed after its summer recess on Monday.

Patel, 52, is battling it out with fellow Tory Cabinet ex-ministers — Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, Tom Tugendhat, Robert Kenrick and Mel Stride — for the first round of votes scheduled for Wednesday, when one candidate with the least backing of their party MPs will be knocked out of the race.

The staged contest was triggered after the Conservatives' bruising defeat to Prime Minister Keir Starmer led Labour in the July 4 general election.

"It's time to move on and to move forward. I am an optimist with clear goals, and I will revive our party so we can provide the leadership our great country needs," said Patel, in a key speech around her campaign slogan of "unite to win" ahead of the first voting round.

"My mum would pack us loads of food, a nice picnic. She's a vegetarian, so she made Indian rice and chapatis. That was just amazing," she shared, with reference to family holidays by the English coast.

Patel faces a tough battle as Tory MPs vote to start narrowing down the field this week until only two candidates remain for the online voting by the wider Conservative membership.