 From 1995 to 1997, Patel headed the press office of the Referendum Party, a single-issue Eurosceptic party.In 1997, Patel left to join the Conservative Party having been offered a post to work for the new leader William Hague in his press office, dealing with media relations in London and the South East of England.In August 2003, the "Financial Times" published an article citing quotes from Patel and alleging that "racist attitudes" persisted in the Conservative Party, and that "there's a lot of bigotry around".