July 12 (UPI) -- Britain's Home Secretary Priti Patel dropped out of the race to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister on Tuesday in an effort to consolidate her faction of the Conservative Party.
Supporters of Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Attorney General Suella had tried to persuade Patel to not run for fear it would split the party's right flank and favor perceived frontrunner Risha Sunak, the country's former chancellor.
The Conservative Party had garnered positive attention initially for the diversity of its candidates -- including women and people of color -- in an effort to keep power after Johnson was forced to resign after a series of scandals.
"As a lifelong and committed Conservative, I will always make the case for freedom, enterprise and opportunity and work with colleagues to deliver these values in government," Patel said, according to The Guardian.
"Like all Conservative MPs and party members, I will be listening to cases being put forward by the candidates standing for the leadership of the party and trust the contest will be conducted in a good spirit that brings our party together."
Patel may be best remembered as one of six members of David Cameron's cabinet who bucked the then-prime minister to support leaving the European Union, along with Johnson. Cameron resigned after British voters backed the Brexit referendum in 2016.