Why Priti Patel has best chance of saving Tory party – and UK – from Reform

The general election may be over and the Labour party settling themselves in their new offices, but for the Conservatives the mother of all battles for the future of the party is about to unfold.

This time they have to find a way to resolve the right-wing versus ‘one nation’ division which has blighted the Tories’ past decade, or face a lengthy period in opposition and a serious threat from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party.

And an unexpected figure is quietly emerging from the rubble of their worst-ever defeat to offer the prospect of unity – Priti Patel. When I first heard the suggestion, I dismissed it as nonsense that such a previously controversial right-wing figure could save her party, and the country, from Reform.

But then I listened to what some of those in the party itself – senior figures – had to say and began to think there might be something in the idea.

It is two years in September since this self-proclaimed Thatcherite who was once found to have breached the ministerial code in relation to incidents of alleged bullying, resigned from the Home Office and retreated to the back benches.

But what may have seemed like a backwards political step then could turn out to have been a well-handled opportunity to stand apart from the chaos and internal fighting of the Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak interregnums.

It will take more than avoiding blame for the debacle to win the support needed to unite the party and Priti Patel is not one of the names that has been bandied about for the past few months.

However, none of the usual names have been setting the heather alight. Penny Mordaunt, many people’s favourite, lost her seat, while Kemi Badenoch and Suella Braverman’s very public spat has damaged the ability of both to win support.

James Cleverly is difficult to assess. He is popular, but he carries the baggage of being at the centre of the failed regime. Gossip about Robert Jenrick or Victoria Atkins joining the fray seems to have died down.

What those in the know within the Conservative party emphasise is that support of either the right or the one-nationers is not enough. What Priti Patel has in her favour is that while she is right-wing, she has the ability to win support from the one nation group – historically the largest faction in the party. Watching her in parliament these past few days, the image she portrays is of someone intent on doing just that.

On a personal level, I spent much of 2019 confronting her across the chamber in my role as Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson. We have nothing in common on immigration or any other political area. Politically she is Eurosceptic and was part of the Leave campaign. She is also socially conservative.

However, in contrast to those right-wing positions, she also supported one-nation former Remainer Theresa May’s leadership campaign and served in her Cabinet before being asked to resign for breaching the ministerial code over meetings in Israel.

Priti Patel’s willingness to build bridges, combined with her ability to survive various controversies, may yet prove useful if she decides to try to carve out a new role as head of her party.

Christine Jardine is Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West