Junior ministerial offices

Minister of State for Employment
In office 11 May 2015 – 14 July 2016
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Esther McVey
Succeeded by	Damian Hinds
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury
In office 15 July 2014 – 11 May 2015
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	David Gauke
Succeeded by	Damian Hinds

Member of Parliament
for Witham

Incumbent

Assumed office
6 May 2010

Preceded by

Constituency established

Majority

5,145 (10.2%)

Personal details

Born

Priti Sushil Patel

29 March 1972 (age 53)
London, England

Political party

Conservative (1991–1995; since 1997)

Other political
affiliations

Referendum (1995–1997)

Spouse

Alex Sawyer

(m. 2004)

Children

Alma mater

University of Keele (BA)
University of Essex (MPP)

Signature

Dame Priti Sushil Patel (born 29 March 1972) is a British politician. She has been the Shadow Foreign Secretary since November 2024. Before that, she was the Home Secretary from 2019 to 2022.

Priti Patel is a member of the Conservative Party. She also served as the Secretary of State for International Development from 2016 to 2017. She has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Witham since 2010.

She was born in London to a family from Uganda and India. She studied at Keele University and the University of Essex. Priti Patel became interested in politics because of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. She worked in public relations before starting her political career.

Early Life and Education

Priti Patel was born on 29 March 1972 in London. Her grandparents were from Gujarat, India, and moved to Uganda. Her parents later moved to the UK in the 1960s. They started a chain of newsagents, which are small shops selling newspapers and other items. She grew up in a Hindu family.

She went to a comprehensive school in Watford. Then, she studied economics at Keele University. After that, she did postgraduate studies in British Government and Politics at the University of Essex.

Priti Patel admired Margaret Thatcher, who was Prime Minister at the time. She joined the Conservative Party in 1991.

Early Career

After finishing university, Priti Patel worked as an intern at the Conservative Central Office. From 1995 to 1997, she led the press office for the Referendum Party. This party wanted a referendum on the UK's relationship with Europe.

In 1997, she rejoined the Conservative Party. She worked for the new leader, William Hague, helping with media relations.

Working in Public Relations

In 2000, Priti Patel started working for Weber Shandwick, a company that helps manage public image. She worked on projects for large companies. One of her jobs was to talk to politicians about new rules. She worked there for three years.

Later, she worked for Diageo, a company that makes drinks, from 2003 to 2007. She then returned to Weber Shandwick.

Parliamentary Career

Member of Parliament for Witham

Priti Patel at a discussion for the book Britannia Unchained

In the 2005 general election, Priti Patel ran as a Conservative candidate for Nottingham North but did not win. After this, the new Conservative leader, David Cameron, saw her as a promising candidate. She was chosen to be a candidate for the new Witham area in Essex.

In the 2010 general election, Priti Patel was elected as the MP for Witham. She won with 52.2% of the votes.

As an MP, she co-wrote a book called Britannia Unchained in 2012. This book discussed ways to improve the UK's economy. In 2013, she joined the Number 10 Policy Unit, which helps the Prime Minister with new ideas. The next year, she became Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury. This role involves helping manage the country's money.

In the 2015 UK general election, Priti Patel was re-elected as MP for Witham. Her share of the vote increased to 57.5%. After the election, she became Minister of State for Employment. This role meant she helped with jobs and welfare.

Brexit Campaign

Priti Patel has always believed that the UK should not be part of the European Union (EU). When a vote was announced in 2016 on whether the UK should leave the EU, she was a key figure in the "Vote Leave" campaign. She argued that the EU was "undemocratic" and interfered too much.

After the UK voted to leave the EU, Prime Minister David Cameron resigned. Priti Patel supported Theresa May to become the new Conservative leader.

Secretary of State for International Development

Priti Patel greeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015

In July 2016, Theresa May became Prime Minister and appointed Priti Patel as Secretary of State for International Development. This job involves managing the UK's aid to other countries.

Priti Patel said that too much UK aid was wasted. She wanted to focus on helping countries through trade rather than just giving money. In September 2016, she announced that the UK would give £1.1 billion to a fund that fights diseases like malaria and HIV/AIDS. She also said that future aid deals would have "performance agreements." This meant the UK could reduce aid if certain goals were not met.

Meetings and Resignation

In November 2017, it was found that Priti Patel had held meetings in Israel in August 2017 without telling the Foreign Office. These meetings happened while she was on a private holiday. She met with Israeli officials and discussed official business.

This was a problem because ministers must tell the government about such meetings to avoid conflicts of interest. Priti Patel apologized for her actions. However, more details about other undisclosed meetings came out. As a result, she resigned from her Cabinet position on 8 November 2017. She was replaced by Penny Mordaunt.

Backbencher

After resigning, Priti Patel became a "backbencher." This means she was still an MP but not part of the government's main team.

In December 2018, during Brexit talks, a government report suggested that a "no-deal Brexit" could affect food supplies in Ireland. Priti Patel commented on this, saying the government knew Ireland would face problems. Some people criticized her comments, saying they were insensitive.

Home Secretary

Priti Patel as Home Secretary with Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2019

In July 2019, Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed Priti Patel as Home Secretary. This is a very important job, responsible for policing, immigration, and national security.

In the 2019 UK general election, Priti Patel was re-elected as MP for Witham with an even larger majority.

Immigration Policies

As Home Secretary, Priti Patel introduced a new points-based immigration system in February 2020. This system, which started in January 2021, requires people applying for visas to meet certain criteria, like speaking English or having a job in a needed industry. The goal was to control who comes into the UK.

She also banned the use of EU Identity Cards for entering the UK from October 2021. In April 2022, Priti Patel signed a deal with Rwanda to send migrants who cross the English Channel to the African country for their asylum claims to be processed there. This plan has been criticized by many groups.

Protests and Cultural Issues

In June 2020, Priti Patel asked people not to join protests in the UK related to the murder of George Floyd in the United States, due to the Coronavirus. She criticized protesters in Bristol for pulling down a statue of Edward Colston, calling it "disgraceful."

In February 2021, she described the Black Lives Matter protests in the UK as "dreadful." She also said she did not agree with the gesture of "taking the knee," which is done to protest racism. In June 2021, she criticized the England national football team for kneeling against racism before their games.

Resignation from Government

On 5 September 2022, Priti Patel resigned as Home Secretary. This happened as Liz Truss was about to become the new Prime Minister. Priti Patel then returned to being a backbencher.

In Opposition

2024 Leadership Election

In the general election on 4 July 2024, Priti Patel was re-elected as MP for Witham. After Rishi Sunak resigned as the Conservative Party leader, Priti Patel announced on 27 July 2024 that she would run to become the new leader. However, she was eliminated from the leadership election on 9 September 2024, after receiving 14 votes from MPs.

Shadow Foreign Secretary

On 4 November 2024, Priti Patel was appointed Shadow Foreign Secretary by the new leader of the opposition, Kemi Badenoch. In this role, she speaks for the Conservative Party on foreign affairs.

Political Views

Priti Patel is considered to be on the right side of the Conservative Party. She has said that Margaret Thatcher is her political hero and describes herself as a "Thatcherite."

She has strong views on crime. In 2011, she supported bringing back capital punishment (the death penalty), though she later said she no longer held this view in 2016. She also believes that prisoners should not be allowed to vote.

Priti Patel voted against the law that allowed same-sex marriage in England and Wales in 2013.

Personal Life

Priti Patel has been married to Alex Sawyer since 2004. Alex Sawyer works as a marketing consultant and is also a Conservative councillor in London. They have one son, who was born in August 2008.

Honours

Priti Patel became a member of the Privy Council on 13 May 2015. This means she can use the title "The Right Honourable" for life.

In June 2023, she was given the title of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE).

Priti Patel facts for kids

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