Priti Patel among likely candidates for post of PM in new government

LONDON : While Boris Johnson, the star of the Vote Leave campaign, is the current favourite to be the next Conservative leader and prime minister leading a Brexit

Published on: Jun 26, 2016, 09:44:29 IST

By HT Correspondent

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LONDON : While Boris Johnson, the star of the Vote Leave campaign, is the current favourite to be the next Conservative leader and prime minister leading a Brexit government, one of the candidates for the post is Priti Patel, currently a minister of state for employment.

Patel, 43, was one of six ministers in the David Cameron government to join the Vote Leave camp. She was one of the leading spokespersons of the camp that went on to win the June 23 referendum vote for Britain to leave the European Union.

As positioning for Cameron’s successor began after he announced on Friday that he would step down by October, Patel was one of the names mentioned in political circles; others being Theresa May, Michael Gove, Liam Fox, Andrea Leadson and Stephen Crabb.

Bookmakers indicated that Johnson was the hot favourite, followed byMay, Gove, Leadson, Crabb and Fox. Odds of 16/1 to were being offered for Patel, while newspapers included her in analyses about potential successors to Cameron.

Patel has previously been considered a potential leader of the Conservative party. Patel was a long-time Eurosceptic, but often dismissed by ministerial colleagues and Indian-origin lawmakers for her claims such as Brexit will provide a ‘massive boost’ to ties with India.

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