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Priti Patel, Kemi Badenoch launch UK Conservative Party leadership bids

  • Priti Patel and Kemi Badenoch join 4 others, including former home secretary James Cleverly, in race to replace Rishi Sunak as party leader

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Former UK home secretary Priti Patel. Photo: AFP / Jessica Taylor / UK Parliament

Former UK home secretary Priti Patel and ex-business minister Kemi Badenoch have launched bids to become leader of the Britain’s Conservative Party.

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Patel and Badenoch join Mel Stride, Tom Tugendhat, James Cleverly and Robert Jenrick in the race to replace former prime minister Rishi Sunak as party leader.

Patel wrote on Twitter: “I am standing to be the new Leader of the Conservative Party. We must unite to win!

“I can lead us in opposition and unite our party and get us match fit for the next election, with unity, experience and strength.”

Rishi Sunak. Photo: UK Parliament via Reuters
Rishi Sunak. Photo: UK Parliament via Reuters

Patel said she could deliver the “experienced and strong” leadership needed to unite the Tories’ disparate factions, in an article for The Telegraph newspaper on Saturday.

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