Priti Patel rules herself out of Conservative leadership race

Home Secretary Priti Patel has ruled herself out of the Conservative leadership race just hours before nominations close.

The senior Conservative had been expected to launch a bid today, but released a statement saying her “focus” would remain on the day job.

It comes after Transport Secretary Grant Shapps became the first to drop out of the race – leaving the number of candidates currently standing at 10.

Nominations are open until 6pm, after which Sir Graham Brady – who chairs the Tory backbench 1922 Committee – will reveal who has made the first cut and can run to be the next party leader – and prime minister of the UK.

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Ms Patel said she was “grateful for the encouragement and support colleagues and party members have offered me in recent days in suggesting that I enter the contest”.

But she said: “I will not be putting my name forward for the ballot of MPs.

“As home secretary, I have always put the security and safety of our country and the national interest first and my focus is to continue working to get more police on our streets, support our amazing security services to keep our country safe and control our borders.”

She did not reveal who she would be backing in the race to replace Boris Johnson.

Instead she said she would be “listening to cases being put forward by the candidates” and “trust the contest will be conducted in a good spirit that brings our party together”.

To make it on to the official ballot, candidates have to first secure nominations from 20 Tory MPs.

Of the 10 people remaining in the race, four have the public backing to make the list – former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, former defence minister Penny Mordaunt, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and foreign affairs committee chair Tom Tugendhat.

The teams of ex-health secretary Sajid Javid and the new chancellor, Nadhim Zahawi, also claim to be confident they have the numbers.

But it remains unclear if the other four candidates – Jeremy Hunt, Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman and Rehman Chishti – will get through.

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MPs will vote on the final list tomorrow, and the next round on Thursday will see the threshold rise to 30 MPs, It will then keep rising until the last two candidates are confirmed.

After a series of hustings over the summer, the full party membership will get to vote for their preferred candidate, with the next leader set to be announced on 5 September.

Earlier, Mr Shapps dropped out of the running and pledged his support to Mr Sunak, who also gained the backing of Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab.

But while Mr Sunak leads on the number of public declarations of support, the latest poll of party members from Conservative Home has Ms Mordaunt leading the pack, followed by former equalities minister Ms Badenoch.

There are also reports that those loyal to Mr Johnson have chosen Ms Truss as their “stop Rishi” candidate, with both Brexit opportunities minister Jacob Rees-Mogg and Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries pledging her their support.

While the race runs on, Mr Johnson remains in Number 10 as a caretaker prime minister until his successor is announced.

But Labour is attempting to force him out sooner by calling a vote of no confidence in the Commons on Wednesday, which could even trigger a general election.

The party’s leader, Sir Keir Starmer, said it was “intolerable” for the PM to remain in place when “his own party has concluded that he can’t be trusted”.

However, while the motion has the backing of opposition parties, it would need support from some of the Tory benches to pass, making it unlikely.

Sky News is hosting a live TV debate with the contenders vying to be the next leader of the Conservative Party and therefore prime minister, and you could be in the virtual audience.

The debate will take place on Monday 18 July hosted by Sky News presenter Kay Burley.

If you would like to be a member of the virtual audience and be in with a chance of asking a question, please email NewsDebates@sky.uk.