LONDON: By her own admission, UK Home Secretary Priti PatelThe hard line on immigration may have deterred her parents from coming to Britain but it has made her a lover of reason.
However, she now risks having to move away from her conservative base after a plan to stop people crossing illegally through the Channel by sending asylum seekers to Rwanda ran aground.
Patel insists she will “not be discouraged” after it emerged that all migrants to be put on the first plane to Rwanda were relocated on Tuesday night following the Court of Human Rights ruling Europe.
Failure to resolve the hugely contentious issue, at a time when the number of migrants crossing the border is at a record high, will increase pressure from all sides.
Patel was reeling from her performance in front of Ukrainian asylum seekers, which led to Prime Minister Boris Johnson directing her and appointing a new refugee minister.
It all led to a decline in fortunes for Patel, 50, who has survived a government sacking and a damning internal report of her alleged bullying of public servants.
A free-market advocate and staunch Brexit supporter, Patel’s tough stance on immigration has been a hallmark of her time in charge of the Home Office, despite her own family circumstances. .
In announcing Britain’s new “points-based” immigration model as it leaves the European Union, Patel admitted on LBC radio in February 2020 that the system would eliminate people like parents. Teacher.
They were Gujarati Indians from Uganda who fled to England in the 1960s and founded a chain of newsstands, shortly before dictator Idi Amin expelled Asians from the East African country.
Her political heroine Margaret Thatcher is the daughter of a greengrocer and Patel says she shares the former Tory prime minister’s devotion to small business, hard work and frugality.
“Coming from a country where you’ve been mistreated means you want to work hard and contribute to the society where you end up,” she said in a 2012 interview.
Patel said her family’s Hindu values, coupled with her experience of racist abuse growing up in Watford, north London, fueled her determination to succeed.
After college, Patel headed the press office of the Anti-EU Referendum Party in the 1997 general election, before joining the Conservative Party leadership’s media.
She left in 2000 to work in corporate and public relations, including the multinational beverage Diageo.
Then Conservative leader David Cameron placed Patel on a so-called A-list of future MPs and put her in a safe seat in the 2010 general election, before appointing her as minister. subordinates in 2014.
But while he tried to steer the Conservatives to more liberal territory, she voted against introducing same-sex marriage.
Patel later parted ways with Cameron to campaign for Brexit in the 2016 referendum, alongside Johnson.
Cameron succeeded Theresa May as Patel’s international development secretary when she took office in July 2016. It was short-lived.
Possibly fired her in November 2017 after it was reported that Patel had pursued her own liberal diplomacy path during a family vacation to Israel – including a meeting with then prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu – without notifying the State Department or Downing Street.
But when he came to power from May into July 2019, Johnson brought Patel back into the cabinet in a more senior role, in charge of the Home Office.
While some cabinet members argued over allegations of parties violating the Downing Street strike, Patel stood four square feet behind Johnson.
Interviewed by Sky News in January, Patel said she “spends all my time day in and day out” supporting the prime minister.
With a few challenging months ahead, she’ll hope that loyalty pays off.
However, she now risks having to move away from her conservative base after a plan to stop people crossing illegally through the Channel by sending asylum seekers to Rwanda ran aground.
Patel insists she will “not be discouraged” after it emerged that all migrants to be put on the first plane to Rwanda were relocated on Tuesday night following the Court of Human Rights ruling Europe.
Failure to resolve the hugely contentious issue, at a time when the number of migrants crossing the border is at a record high, will increase pressure from all sides.
Patel was reeling from her performance in front of Ukrainian asylum seekers, which led to Prime Minister Boris Johnson directing her and appointing a new refugee minister.
It all led to a decline in fortunes for Patel, 50, who has survived a government sacking and a damning internal report of her alleged bullying of public servants.
A free-market advocate and staunch Brexit supporter, Patel’s tough stance on immigration has been a hallmark of her time in charge of the Home Office, despite her own family circumstances. .
In announcing Britain’s new “points-based” immigration model as it leaves the European Union, Patel admitted on LBC radio in February 2020 that the system would eliminate people like parents. Teacher.
They were Gujarati Indians from Uganda who fled to England in the 1960s and founded a chain of newsstands, shortly before dictator Idi Amin expelled Asians from the East African country.
Her political heroine Margaret Thatcher is the daughter of a greengrocer and Patel says she shares the former Tory prime minister’s devotion to small business, hard work and frugality.
“Coming from a country where you’ve been mistreated means you want to work hard and contribute to the society where you end up,” she said in a 2012 interview.
Patel said her family’s Hindu values, coupled with her experience of racist abuse growing up in Watford, north London, fueled her determination to succeed.
After college, Patel headed the press office of the Anti-EU Referendum Party in the 1997 general election, before joining the Conservative Party leadership’s media.
She left in 2000 to work in corporate and public relations, including the multinational beverage Diageo.
Then Conservative leader David Cameron placed Patel on a so-called A-list of future MPs and put her in a safe seat in the 2010 general election, before appointing her as minister. subordinates in 2014.
But while he tried to steer the Conservatives to more liberal territory, she voted against introducing same-sex marriage.
Patel later parted ways with Cameron to campaign for Brexit in the 2016 referendum, alongside Johnson.
Cameron succeeded Theresa May as Patel’s international development secretary when she took office in July 2016. It was short-lived.
Possibly fired her in November 2017 after it was reported that Patel had pursued her own liberal diplomacy path during a family vacation to Israel – including a meeting with then prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu – without notifying the State Department or Downing Street.
But when he came to power from May into July 2019, Johnson brought Patel back into the cabinet in a more senior role, in charge of the Home Office.
While some cabinet members argued over allegations of parties violating the Downing Street strike, Patel stood four square feet behind Johnson.
Interviewed by Sky News in January, Patel said she “spends all my time day in and day out” supporting the prime minister.
With a few challenging months ahead, she’ll hope that loyalty pays off.
