FirstFT: And then there were eight

The field to replace Boris Johnson as the next Conservative party leader and UK prime minister narrowed last night as eight candidates qualified for the ballot ahead of the first round of voting today.

Sajid Javid, the former health secretary, dropped out of a race marked by anonymous briefings between rivals, while home secretary Priti Patel decided not to run, avoiding further splits among rightwing candidates.

Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor, is the bookmakers’ favourite to win, with William Hill giving him odds of 13/8, followed by Penny Mordaunt, junior trade minister, on 2/1 and foreign secretary Liz Truss on 7/2. An Opinium poll said Sunak was the preferred candidate for 28 per cent of Tory party members, followed by Truss on 20 per cent.

Sunak launched his campaign with a promise to fight a clean contest, vowing not to “demonise” Johnson and saying the prime minister had “a good heart”. Despite his emollient language, allies of the outgoing prime minister have mobilised to try to “stop Rishi”.

Which Conservative MPs support each of the candidates to become the country’s next prime minister? Follow our leadership election tracker.

Do you think Sunak will win the leadership contest? Let us know by voting in our poll, or emailing firstft@ft.com. Thanks for reading FirstFT Europe/Africa. Here’s the rest of today’s news — Jennifer

Five more stories in the news

1. Twitter sues to force Elon Musk deal The social media company asked a Delaware court yesterday to force the billionaire entrepreneur to honour his $44bn agreement to buy the platform.

2. Nato and EU alarm over risk of Ukraine weapons smuggling The two blocs are pushing for better tracking of weapons supplied to Kyiv in response to fears that criminal groups are smuggling them out of the country and on to Europe’s black market.

More on the war in Ukraine:

3. Andrew Bailey pledges to bring UK inflation down to 2% target The Bank of England governor yesterday pledged to bring down inflation to the central bank’s target, “no ifs or buts”, adding the BoE could raise interest rates more sharply than previously in response to surging price rises.

4. Donald Trump pushed election fraud claims despite doubts The former US president was told by almost all his close advisers that he had lost the 2020 US election, yet continued to insist it had been stolen, a congressional committee has heard. Advisers screamed at each other during an “unhinged” meeting in December 2020, witnesses said.

5. DAZN in talks to buy Eleven Sports Billionaire Len Blavatnik’s sport streaming company is in talks to acquire smaller rival Eleven Sports, according to people with knowledge of the details. The negotiations show DAZN’s determination to move into new markets at a time of stiff competition between streaming groups to broadcast live sports.

The day ahead

Kamala Harris speaks to the Pacific Islands Forum The vice-president is expected to announce the US’s plans to open embassies in Kiribati and Tonga and to ask Congress for more money to help Pacific island nations tackle illegal fishing in its latest effort to push back against China.

Northern Ireland post-Brexit trading arrangement Ministers will push ahead with legislation to rip up Boris Johnson’s so-called Northern Ireland protocol, with no sign that any Tory leadership contenders will stop it.

RMT-Network Rail deal Negotiators for the RMT, which brought large parts of Britain’s railways to a standstill when its members went on strike for three days last month, said they would put a pay rise offer from the owner of the country’s train infrastructure to its executive committee.

Economic data The UK economy is expected to have contracted for the third month in a row in May after soaring energy prices diminished consumer spending power. Final consumer price index figures for June are out in France and Germany, while the EU publishes industrial production data for May. In the US, the Federal Reserve is due to publish its Beige Book, which will provide insights into the effects of surging inflation, as it releases its consumer price index for June. (WSJ, FT)

What else we’re reading

Inflation is a political as well as an economic challenge The return of inflation is not just an important economic event. It is a political one. As it becomes decreasingly plausible that it will simply fade painlessly away, tough decisions must be made on how to react to it, writes Martin Wolf.

France’s great Dijon mustard crisis From surgical masks to Ukrainian sunflower oil, household items have been in short supply at times since the start of the pandemic. But now — for French food lovers — it’s getting serious: the country is running out of mustard. Victor Mallet explores.

• Will Emmanuel Macron’s economic reforms stall? As his second term starts, the president who declared he wanted the country to become a “start-up nation” has a weakened political hand after losing his parliamentary majority.

Euro’s slide towards dollar parity reflects hit from Ukraine war The currency is now worth a fraction above a single dollar for the first time since 2002, reviving memories of its difficult early years when it fell so low traders dubbed it the “toilet currency”. But this autumn points to the risk of a recession, more than question marks over its future.

What can UK learn from Dutch approach to end-of-life care? The NHS will need up to 40,000 more beds — about 65 more hospitals — by the end of the decade, as it confronts a rising tide of illness and death among the “baby boomer” generation, according to new research. But the Netherlands offers a blueprint to tackle flaws in the country’s health system.

Shinzo Abe’s death gives PM chance to make his mark The assassination of Japan’s longest-serving prime minister has left a profound void in the governing Liberal Democratic party — and created an extraordinary opportunity for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to stamp his own mark on Japanese politics.

Gaming

What difference do a few seconds make? If you’re boiling rice or driving to work, not a great deal. But for the hero of Neon White, a single moment’s delay could spell the difference between a year of bliss in heaven and eternal damnation in hell. Tom Faber takes a look at the gaming subculture.