Priti Patel enters Tory leadership race

Former home secretary Priti Patel launched her bid to become the new leader of the Conservative Party on Saturday, making her the fifth candidate seeking to replace outgoing leader Rishi Sunak.

Sunak stepped down following the party's worst election performance earlier this month but said he would stay on as acting leader until his successor is chosen.

Patel is the first female candidate in the race, launching her bid with the slogan "Unite to Win," referencing the party's fractured state after 14 years in government.

"It is time to put unity before personal vendetta, country before party, and delivery before self-interest," she said in a statement.

Patel resigned as international development minister in 2017 over undisclosed meetings with Israeli officials that breached diplomatic protocol but returned to government in 2019 under then-prime minister Boris Johnson as interior minister.

She also held junior ministerial roles in the Department for Work and Pensions and the Treasury.

Patel has been a member of parliament since 2010 and previously worked in public relations.

Ahead of nominations closing on Monday, the other candidates so far are: former security minister Tom Tugendhat, former foreign minister James Cleverly, former work and pensions minister Mel Stride, and former immigration minister Robert Jenrick.

The leadership contest will see the party's elected lawmakers first narrow the field to four candidates, who will make their case at the Conservative Party conference starting in late September.

The number of candidates will then be reduced to two, who will be put forward to a vote of all party members.

The new leader will be named on 2 November.

(With inputs from Reuters)