PRITI PATEL has become the fifth Tory MP to enter the Conservative leadership contest, vowing to turn the party “back into a winning machine.”

Polling shows that the ally of disgraced ex-prime minister Boris Johnson is the least popular candidate to become leader of the opposition.

While home secretary, she was accused of bullying staff and heavily criticised by campaigners for her “anti-refugee” immigration and asylum measures.

Announcing her leadership bid on Saturday, Ms Patel wrote on Twitter: “I am standing to be the new leader of the Conservative Party. We must unite to win!

“I can lead us in opposition and unite our party, and get us match fit for the next election, with unity, experience and strength.”

She claimed that she could deliver the “experienced and strong” leadership needed to unite the Tories’ disparate factions.

As leader, Ms Patel would use the “huge talent pool … of Conservative Party members” to “solve the big challenges that Labour, the Lib Dems and Reform don’t have answers to,” she wrote.

Sunak ally Mel Stride, ex-security minister Tom Tugendhat, fellow former home secretary James Cleverly and ex-housing minister Robert Jenrick have already announced their leadership bids.

A third former home secretary, Suella Braverman, and shadow communities secretary Kemi Badenoch are both expected to put themselves forward for the Tory leadership.

A long and potentially divisive campaign is expected, with the winner due to be announced on November 2.

Shadow paymaster general John Glen said today that the Conservatives needed to undergo “a rigorous process” involving “demonstrating some humility” and a clear plan to win back the trust of the British people.

The strength of right-wing sentiment in Britain should not be underestimated, Momentum has warned, despite the Tories repeatedly confirming that “they have no answers to the problems faced by the country.”