Priti Patel was first elected as the first Member of Parliament for the Witham Constituency in May 2010 and was subsequently re-elected in May 2015. Born in London and educated at a comprehensive school in Watford, Priti went on to study economics at Keele University before completing her postgraduate studies at the University of Essex. In July 2014 Priti was appointed as Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury and following the 2015 General Election was appointed as the new Minister for Employment at the Department for Work and Pensions. In July 2016 Priti was appointed as Secretary of State for International Development. Prior to becoming a Government Minister, Priti served on the 1922 Committee’s Executive and has previously been an elected member of the Conservative Party Board. In October 2013, she was appointed by the Prime Minister to sit on the Conservative Party Policy Board, and in November 2013, was appointed as the first ever Prime Minister’s UK India Diaspora Champion. Priti has also previously served as Chair of the APPG for Small Shops, Co-Chair of the APPG for Victims and Witnesses of Crime, and Vice-Chair of the Indo-British APPG
