The first televised face-off between Sunak and Truss could have a decisive impact on the battle for leadership

The Conservative leadership candidates are preparing for their first one-on-one televised debate, which could play a decisive role in determining who will succeed Boris Johnson as Prime Minister.

With much of the 160,000 Tory members likely to vote as soon as the ballots arrive next week, the BBC's 9 p.m. Monday showdown could be the only real chance for Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss to pitch their case directly to those who determine their fate.

The pair will clash over taxation and immigration, but Labor insisted they should be quizzed on how they would fund their 'fantastic saving' plans, whether they would scrap no-dom status and how they would help families facing a £1,000 leap in energy bills this autumn.

The plans for Mrs Truss for 30 billion pounds Sterling res of immediate tax cuts, financed by borrowing, have come under renewed scrutiny after three members of Margaret Thatcher's last cabinet - Chris Patten, Norman Lamont and Sir Malcolm Rifkind - said the " Iron Lady" would not have approved o for them.

On the eve of the debate, Ms Truss presented proposals for a network of "comprehensive free ports", offering tax breaks, rules of light planning and reduced regulation in hopes of attracting investment and growth.

And Sunak took a hard line on China, calling the Asian country East of "the greatest long-term threat to Britain" and declaring that it would ban its Confucius Institute cultural centers from the UK.

The weekend saw an increasingly bitter clash over immigration, as everyone turned to the right in the hope of securing votes from the The conservative "selectorate" who will choose the country's prime minister and who, according to polls, have a significantly more hostile attitude towards migrants than the population as a whole.

Mr Sunak's plans to harbor the asylum seekers on detention ships off the coast of the UK and to suspend aid from developing countries that do not take returning nationals who have been denied the right to stay have been called "cruel by Oxfam and "beyond pallor" by Christian Aid.

And Truss allies have said the proposal to house migrants on cruise ships rather than hotels would violate the national and international law, creating a chain of prison ships in areas trying to lure tourists.

Ms Truss said she would seek to get more countries to sign Rwanda-style agreements to accept asylum seekers deported from the UK, despite re the fact that the scheme has cost £120m and has failed to deport a single migrant since its introduction. in April.

The Foreign Secretary said her proposal for 'designated investment areas' would spark growth and innovation in parts of the UK, attracting high-tech industries such as than AI. They also represent a sweep of Mr Sunak's freeport scheme, which she said gave Whitehall the power to pick winners and losers.

Under the scheme, the government would work with local communities to identify sites ready for redevelopment, with a preference for previously developed "wasteland" sites.

She said the project would be a cornerstone of her economic strategy and help create new model towns like those of Bournville and Saltaire, the working-class villages established by philanthropic businessmen in the Victorian era.

But his plan to reduce planning restrictions and regulations will raise concerns about shoddy development and environmental damage, as well as the potential for businesses to be simply poached from areas outside the areas.

Ms Truss said said: "As Prime Minister, I will be focused on boosting business investment and delivering the economic growth our country desperately needs.

"We can't continue to allow White hall to pick winners and losers, as we have seen with the current freeport model. Instead, by creating these new investment zones, we will finally prove to businesses that we are committed to their future and inspire them to stimulate investment that will help hard workers. »

Mr. Sunak promised a big toughening of government policy on China, seeking to circumvent Ms Truss' divisive stance towards Beijing as foreign minister.

The former chancellor said that he would close the 30 Confucius Institutes in the UK, which critics have called propaganda tools at a time of deteriorating relations between China and the West.

Mr. Sunak accused China of "stealing our technology and infiltrating our universities", as well as intimidating Taiwan and violating the human rights of people in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

He said he would review all research partnerships between the UK and China and expand the reach of MI5 to counter Chinese industrial espionage....