Dame Priti Patel is poised to enter the race for the leadership of the Conservative Party. The former Home Secretary has been quietly assembling her campaign team in preparation to replace former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Her supporters believe that Patel will secure the necessary backing from MPs to reach the final two candidates. They argue that, in a head-to-head against a centrist contender, she would be the preferred choice of the party members. Furthermore, her allies think she is capable of uniting the different factions within the Conservative Party.

It has been reported that Patel has appointed a campaign treasurer, purportedly a member of the House of Lords, and has enlisted former advisers and Conservative Party staff.

A source close to Patel stated: "Priti has kept a low profile and done her best to support others. She feels colleagues also need time to digest the general election result and doesn't want posturing in the media from prospective candidates. She has quietly put a team together, as many colleagues from different sides of the party have over the past week urged her to run, and she now has key MP supporters and campaign staff in place, including some high-profile Conservative donors."

Patel has also secured the backing of several prominent donors who have previously supported the party during the leaderships of Boris Johnson and Lord Cameron.

Representing Witham in Essex since 2010, Patel retained her seat in the recent general election, albeit with a reduced majority of 5,145. She is anticipated to formally announce her candidacy by the end of next week.

The centrist wing of the Conservative Party is expected to be represented by one of former Security Minister Tom Tugendhat, former Home Secretary James Cleverly, or former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick. Meanwhile, Kemi Badenoch, the bookmakers' favourite to succeed Sunak, has caused some concern among MPs with her forthright remarks about the current leader and former Home Secretary Suella Braverman.