'Backhanded Compliment': Home Secretary Priti Patel Could Replace Oliver Dowden as Tory Party Chair

Conservative Party Chair Oliver Dowden has resigned following the Tories losing two by-elections, surrendering Tiverton and Honiton to Liberal Democrats and Wakefield to the Labour.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is considering Home Secretary Priti Patel as a potential successor to Tory chair Oliver Dowden in the wake of the by-election fallout, The Telegraph reported.

Such a reshuffle could be a sideways move or even a demotion, since the position of Home Secretary is considered to be more attractive as a so-called "Great Office of the State" compared to the role of the party chair.

Some people described the possible reshuffle as a "backhand compliment", but Patel's friends remain confident that the move is unlikely to happen, given how frequently such reports emerge only for the reshuffle to not happen.

"People regularly say she is going to be made party chairman at every reshuffle and that is never going to happen," one insider said.

Patel has been in hot water recently over the controversial scheme to tackle the migration crisis by deporting illegal migrants to Rwanda under multimillion pound deal with the east African nation's government. Under the plan, migrants would be handed a one-way ticket to Rwanda, with the African country offering them temporary housing as their bid is being considered. Should it be approved, Rwanda could offer migrants long-term accommodation.

However, critics slam the plan for being potentially costly and ethically problematic, with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) blocking the first flight carrying migrants from the UK to Rwanda. London, in its turn, has pushed forward legislation that would allow British courts to overrule the decisions of their European counterparts when it comes to human rights issues.

Reports suggesting that Patel could be removed as Home Secretary to replace Dowden come on the heels of the Tories' bitter defeat in key by-elections, with ex-party chair saying that someone should take responsibility. Boris Johnson, in his turn, has faced new calls to step down, with by-election loss adding up to the pile of partygate-induced troubles that he is dealing with. The embattled prime minister does not plan to step down.

The Conservative party has given up its Wakefield seat to the Labour, and lost Tiverton and Honiton to Liberal Democrats after more than a hundred years of holding the southwest England seat.