Priti Patel

Priti Patel (born 29 March 1972) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Witham constituency in Essex since 2010, and is now the Minister of State for Employment, since 11 May 2015, sitting in the cabinet. wiki powerbase She is a former deputy press secretary to William Hague MP (1997 to 2000).

From 1995 to 1997 she worked for the Referendum Party, for Sir James Goldsmith, heading up the press office. "I went into consultancy and worked for Weber Shandwick which I loved. I was working for multi-national companies which is something I've always wanted to do. I'm now at Diageo, the premium drinks company. I've learnt a great deal since I left Westminster." [1] Her father Sushil Patel planned to stand as a UKIP candidate in the past. [2]

"Priti Patel worked for PR firm Shandwick on improving BAT’s image over Burma factory, and also lobbied MEPs against EU tobacco regulations... Patel is seen as on the right of the Conservative party, having backed calls for the return of capital punishment and voted against same-sex marriage. She is also seen as a serious force in the party." [3]

She is an officer of Conservative Friends of Israel (2011-14). [4]

Affiliations

• Political Advisory Council member, Henry Jackson Society