The UK's opposition Conservative Party has appointed Mel Stride as head of finance policy and Priti Patel as head of foreign policy, according to a report by Sky News on Monday.

The new appointments indicate that party leader Kemi Badenoch may be aiming to bridge the divide between the party's often conflicting factions.

Badenoch, who became the first Black woman to lead a major British political party on Saturday, has committed to steering the Conservatives back to their founding principles. While some have expressed concerns that this could signal a shift to the right, the selection of Stride—a moderate who previously served as work and pensions secretary under former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak—and Patel, a right-wing former home secretary, suggests an effort to balance the party's ideological wings. Photo by UK Government, Wikimedia commons.