The UK’s next prime minister

Hello from a very busy newsroom in London. I hope you had a great summer. After months of political campaigning, the UK is soon to find out who will be the next prime minister. Ahead of Monday’s result, the Conservative party last night held its final leadership hustings, and contenders Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss were quizzed on?how they would respond to the energy crisis.

Frontrunner Truss vowed to never introduce new taxes and ruled out energy rationing, but refused to be drawn into detail on her cost of living plan. Speaking to the Financial Times this week, Sunak said he feared Truss’s unfunded spending commitments could force up inflation and interest rates, and increase UK borrowing costs. Don’t miss the?full interview.

Here at the FT we will be watching closely to see how the new prime minister operates on the international stage. As foreign secretary, Truss’s blunt style has at times irked her counterparts in the US. Our foreign affairs correspondent Felicia Schwartz lifts the lid on?Truss’s not so special relationship with the US.

My choices this week

1.?“A storm has come from Europe’s east. It must be weathered.” In his latest column, Martin Wolf explains?where central banks went wrong?coming out of the pandemic, and what they need to do to tackle the energy price shock.

2.?Growing evidence shows that?Covid-19 is leaving people more vulnerable to serious illnesses. Health editor Sarah Neville explains what the health effects will mean for healthcare systems around the world in this worrying read.?(Free to read)

3.?Chinese espionage has reached a level of sophistication usually associated with Russia, intelligence chiefs tell the FT. We examine?why Chinese spying tactics are alarming European leaders.?

4.?People are calling for restrictions on private jets after sites started tracking absurdly short celebrity flights (Kylie Jenner, 17 minutes). But columnist Pilita Clark argues that?instead of banning private jets, we could put them to better use.

5.?Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union and Nobel Peace Prize winner, died at the age of 91 on Tuesday.?We tell the story of Gorbachev, the reformist politician who ended one-party communist rule and halted the global arms race.?(Free to read)

6.?Can you admit you are wrong??In her latest column Jemima Kelly explains why intellectual humility matters — and why it can help people resist fake news.

Thanks for reading

Roula

PS?Ahead of the Tory leadership result, we have a special subscription offer for you.?Sign up for Stephen Bush’s Inside Politics newsletter, and you can get the newsletter sent straight to your inbox every weekday, as well as access to FT.com, for less than half-price.

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