Dame Priti Patel is emerging as the front runner to become the new Tory party leader, after a new poll suggested that the party was on track for its worst showing in 346 years.
A Survation super poll, which was commissioned by the organisation Best for Britain, contacted over 15,000 people, with results suggesting a Tory annihilation and a return of only 98 seats from the upcoming General Election.
If this polling was replicated at the polls, it would see Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer installed in No10 with over 450 seats, eclipsing the landslide achieved by Tony Blair in 1997.
Staring at the prospect of defeat, some senior Tories are now urging former Home Secretary Priti Patel to run for leadership.
Priti Patel is thought among those on the right of the party to be the candidate to take on Reform UK
PAOne Conservative Party insider told GB News: “Priti would make an excellent Leader of the Party. She’s bright, articulate, charismatic and has experience across the highest levels of government.
“Her Conservative credentials are impeccable and her position on immigration, cultural issues and Brexit are unmatched on the right of the Party.
“She’s kept out of the factionalism over the last few years and because she hasn’t been publicly critical of Rishi, and was yet loyal to Boris and Liz, she would be able to unite the Party.
“She’s also ideally placed to take on Reform.”
Reform UK, the rebranded Brexit Party, have seen a surge in the polls in recent months, sweeping up votes from the Conservatives.
One senior source from the Tory Right claimed that when it comes to Conservative voters who are looking for Patel to take over as leader of the party, many want to know if she has the "support" of Boris Johnson.
“MPs are exasperated at how often this comes up on the doorstep," they said.
A candidate who has the backing of the former leader is seen among some MPs as an important way to win back voters disillusioned after Johnson was forced out of No10.
Patel is a close ally of Johnson and previously served in his Cabinet.
Patel has been openly building alliances across both wings of the party, most recently attending events hosted by both the ‘five families’ and One-Nation group of MPs.
Elsewhere, the former Secretary of State has attended a Pop Con event in London, launched by former Prime Minister Liz Truss, with other notable attendees including former Leader of the House Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, and Reform UK’s newest recruit Lee Anderson, a Conservative MP at the time.
The latest YouGov/Times voting intention poll also shows that the Conservative party is on just 21 per cent, 19 points behind Labour's vote share of 40 per cent.
