Former British Indian home secretary Priti Patel has been appointed shadow foreign secretary to the Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch, who replaced Rishi Sunak and became the Conservative leader. The shadow foreign secretary will join the opposition benches in the House.
Indian-origin Priti Patel was among the initial contenders in the contest to succeed Rishi Sunak as the leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition. With Robert Jenrick and Mel Stride appointed as shadow justice secretary and shadow chancellor, respectively, Badenoch’s choices for her frontbench are viewed as efforts to bring unity to a fractured Conservative Party.
“Congratulations to Kemi Badenoch on her election as leader of our great Party,” posted Patel on X over the weekend after the election result was declared.
“Let’s all unite behind her to renew and earn back the trust of the British people. I look forward to supporting her in holding this dishonest and self-serving Labour government to account and in putting forward a Conservative vision for the future of our great county,” she said.
Patel, who received a Damehood in former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation honours, has been serving on the Tory backbenches since his departure from 10 Downing Street in 2022. She will now go head-to-head with Labour’s foreign secretary, David Lammy, in parliamentary debates.
Claire Coutinho, of Goan origin, retains her role as shadow secretary of state for energy security and net zero, and has also been assigned an additional role as shadow equalities minister.
“I am so pleased to remain Shadow Energy Secretary. This is one of the most important agendas for the country. From people’s energy bills to businesses ability to succeed, there’s so much riding on it. I look forward to continuing to hold Labour and Ed (Miliband) to account,” said Coutinho.
With the Conservative Party now reduced to only 121 members of Parliament, Badenoch faces the challenge of assigning multiple shadow roles to some of her team, as many senior Tories have turned down frontbench positions. She is set to lead her first shadow cabinet meeting as the Leader of the Opposition.
The MP for North West Essex, who has Nigerian heritage, stated that her newly formed shadow cabinet “utilizes the talents of individuals from across the Conservative Party, chosen on the basis of meritocracy and encompassing a wide range of experience and perspectives.”
“We will now get to work holding Labour to account and rebuilding our party based on Conservative principles and values. The process of renewing our great party has now begun,” she added.
