Priti Patel is on the outs even with the Tories. So, here are her greatest (!) hits.

Ghoul Priti Patel has been knocked out of the Conservative leadership race. It’s only the first round of voting, and Priti’s been shown the door already. As the BBC reported:

The former immigration minister Robert Jenrick topped the poll of MPs with 28 votes followed by Kemi Badenoch on 22 votes.

Third was James Cleverly with 21, fourth was Tom Tugendhat with 17, fifth was Mel Stride with 16 and last was Dame Patel on 14.

Now, like any good (!) politician, Priti’s net worth was over £2 million a couple of years ago. So, it’s unlikely she cares. However, this is as good an opportunity as any to look back at this rotted, cruel goblin masquerading as a politician – Canary-style.

Priti Patel’s National Security Act

Back in 2022, Priti Patel oversaw the introduction of what is now the National Security Act. This was widely seen as an attack on journalistic freedom with the Canary’s Tom Coburg explaining:

The proposed legislation threatens life imprisonment for anyone disclosing UK state or government-held data that may be of benefit to an unspecified foreign power. Consequently, no news outlet would be able to re-publish newly published material, say by WikiLeaks, which is of global interest without fear of court action. The legislation would restrict what UK government or state leaks can be published by the media.

It’s impossible to argue that the Act doesn’t pose a serious restriction on whistleblowers and journalists. In fact, at the time many rights charities spoke out against the plans. However, this is exactly Patel’s wheelhouse – to restrict freedom of speech and obstruct challenges to power.

Right to protest

Priti Patel has often come out to criticise protesters, calling climate activists “selfish.” She called Black Lives Matter protests “dreadful.” Her Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act of 2022 was a draconian piece of legislation. As the Canary’s Jasmine Norden reported:

This bill will erode the right to protest in the UK, making it harder to stand up to power even through non-violent protests. It will encourage the behaviour displayed by the police at the weekend and at recent protests for racial justice and environmental action. It is therefore imperative that we all take action to ensure it isn’t passed and to ensure that we all have the right to protest.

The act gives police powers to shut down protests due to noise levels, and makes nuisance a statutory offence. The Network for Police Monitoring (Netpol) said that the new legislation means that:

 In practice, the police themselves will often be able to decide when and how to impose conditions, opening the door for widespread abuse.

Handing more police powers to an institutionally racist entity that disproportionately targets Black people cannot be good news for anyone.

Racist immigration policies from Priti Patel

It’s difficult to neatly sum up Priti Patel’s repeated racist immigration remarks and policies.

Suffice to say, Patel spent her time in office wielding white supremacy. She notably wanted to turn refugee boats away from the British coast – a plan that was called “cruel” and “cowardly.” Her Nationality and Borders Act is certainly one of the most racist pieces of legislation to come out of an administration. As the Canary’s Sophia Purdy-Moore reported at the time, the immigration legislation included the new power to strip citizenship without warning.

Ministers in Scotland called the plans “barbaric.” Patel’s later plans to deport people to Rwanda, regardless of their country of origin was famously a racist shitstorm. Diane Abbott labelled the plan “cruel and bizarre,” saying that it “pandered to racists.” Of course, the plan faced numerous legal challenges:

The government’s deportation plans have received widespread opposition from lawyers, human rights activists, and everyday people who can see these plans for what they are: inhumane and illegal.

Priti racist

Priti Patel has built up a portfolio of restrictive, draconian, and racist pieces of legislation. She continually used her time in office to work to suppress freedom of information, to make British border control even more racist and terrifying, and to target people of colour in the country with her incendiary comments. She’s a nasty piece of work and the quicker she’s out of public life, the better.

Featured image via YouTube screenshot/Guardian News