Steve McGookin

As Joe Biden himself said, this coming week will define his presidency. Such a statement might seem an unnecessary hostage to fortune at what’s still a relatively early stage of his tenure, but as he travels to Europe this weekend for the G20meeting in Rome and then the COP26climate summit in Glasgow, the President finds himself beset by connected challenges, global and local.

Tories gather amid shortages and cost of living fears The Conservatives began their first in-person conference for two years this weekend in Manchester, ostensibly in a strong position politically despite ongoing issues surrounding HGV driver shortages and rising energy costs creating uncertainty in the run-up to Christmas. The first military drivers begin delivering petrol to garages on Monday morning, while the furlough scheme and Universal Credit uplift are set to end this week.

Panic Stations The government could decide on Monday to deploy the Army to carry out petrol deliveries after this week saw widespread panic-buying amid supply problems at forecourts across Britain. BP said on Sunday that a third of its stations in Britain had run out.