LONDON (AP) — Priti Patel, who was Britain’s interior minister when Boris Johnson was prime minister, has become the first candidate to be eliminated in the Conservative Party’s leadership election, two months after the party resoundingly lost power following 14 years in office.
In a vote open to the party’s lawmakers Wednesday, Patel garnered the support of only 14 Conservative members of parliament, placing her last of six.
Robert Jenrick, who quit his role in the government led by Rishi Sunak over his opposition to its policies on immigration, came in first with 28 votes. He was followed by long-time favorite Kemi Badenoch, the former business secretary, who got 22 votes, and James Cleverly, who was interior minister at the time of the election defeat on July 4, who got 21.
Former Security Minister Tom Tugenhadt got 17 votes, and Mel Stride, who was work and pensions minister, got 16.
The five remaining candidates face another contest next Wednesday, when one more will be eliminated. The four remaining candidates will then make their pitch to Conservative delegates at the party’s conference in October, after which their number will be whittled down to two when lawmakers return to Parliament.
The new leader, who will be decided by party members, will be announced Nov. 2.
The winner will replace Sunak, who led the Conservative Party to its worst election result since 1832. It lost more than 200 seats to take its tally down to 121.
The party, which is the second biggest in the House of Commons, is well behind the Labour Party’s 404 seats. With such a big deficit, it’s going to be extremely difficult for the Conservatives to return to power in the next election, which has to take place by 2029.