Priti Patel was the home secretary in former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government. (File)
London:
The UK’s Conservative Party leadership candidate Priti Patel has been eliminated from the contest after the first round of voting.
Ms Patel, who was the home secretary in former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government, was running to succeed Rishi Sunak as the party’s leader. Mr Sunak stepped down from the post after the Conservatives lost the general election in July.
Former immigration minister Robert Jenricks came out on top with 28 votes followed by Kemi Badenoch with 22 votes. James Cleverly was in the third position as he secured 21 votes and Tom Tugendhat won 17. Mel Stride was fifth with 16 and the last was Ms Patel with 14 votes.
The next vote will take place next Tuesday after which four candidates would remain before the party’s annual conference at the end of September.
Multiple rounds of voting will take place after the conference from October 8. The voting will last three days until there are only two candidates left.
The MPs will then finally choose their leader, with the result announced on November 2.
During her term as home secretary, Ms Patel was known for her tough stance on immigration. She led the Conservative government’s flagship scheme to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda.
In her Tory leadership campaign, she had promised to unite the party and get it ready for the next general election.
