That's all from us tonight, as parliament calls it a wrap for 2025.

MPs and peers have sat for the last (planned) time this year, and both houses are now in recess until 2026.

But that didn't stop the government from packing today with news, most of which it didn't want scrutinized. 

Among the things Labour announced today were: 

• A decision to give 63 councils the option to postpone local elections next year
• A clamp-down on the twice-daily briefings delivered to the media each working day, with the sweetener of "occasional" ministerial news conferences
• The appointment of the new ambassador to the US, following the sacking of Lord Mandelson
• The government's strategy to tackle violence against women and girls
• A report showing the courts in England and Wales are still performing terribly

The list goes on.

Add to this a bomb scare by parliament this morning, and it's been a busy last day of sitting for MPs.

You can catch up on all those stories and much more by having a look at the key points above, or by watching today's edition of the Politics Hub below.

We'll be back again tomorrow morning. Thanks for joining us today, but for now - goodbye.

It appears to be good news.

Inflation fell by more than expected, according to data released today. 

While inflation is still above the Bank of England's target of 2%, it was found to have fallen to 3.2%. 

That in turn led the bank to cut interest rates from 4% to 3.75%, the sixth cut since Labour came to power.

It means that those with floating mortgage rates will see an immediate reduction in their monthly repayments. 

But is it all good news, and has the Bank of England really vanquished inflation? 

Our economics and data editor Ed Conway explains all...

By Daniel Dunford, senior data journalist

Almost two in five victims of what the government defines as violence against women and girls are neither women nor girls, but adult men.

The government describes violence against women and girls (VAWG) as a "national emergency" and one of their central promises has been that they would halve it within a decade.

Today, 18 months in to their time in power, we know what they mean by that. As part of a strategy labelled Freedom From Violence and Abuse, the Home Office has been working alongside the Office for National Statistics to define a new measure of VAWG.

Among the crimes it says are included in the definition of VAWG are: domestic abuse, stalking, sexual violence, including rape and other sexual offences, sexual harassment, 'honour'-based abuse, female genital mutilation, online and technology-facilitated abuse, fatal VAWG such as domestic homicides, sexual exploitation and spiking.

But in terms of the numbers of offences committed, the majority of VAWG crimes involve either sexual abuse, domestic abuse or stalking - some 5.1 million victims in the year ending March 2025, according to government figures.

The government's strategy includes a range of educational and preventative measures aimed at supporting men and boys, in a bid to reduce the number of crimes of those types women and girls experience.

That will include training for teachers to spot early signs of misogyny in boys and steer them away from it.

By Oscar Bentley, political reporter

Residents in new build housing estates are set to be given the power to challenge rip-off fees from private management companies.

Ministers have already taken action to allow leaseholders to challenge unfair private management fees for communal spaces, and to form their own residents management associations to take over responsibility from private companies.

Housing minister Matthew Pennycook has now launched a consultation for homeowners on freehold estates to gain similar powers. 

While residents on these estates often own the freehold of their properties, private companies rather than local councils can still manage local spaces - often due to the high cost of taking over those spaces by cash-strapped councils.

Like with leasehold estates, private management companies for freehold estates have been accused of charging unclear and extortionate management fees running into the thousands. 

Homeowners can lose their homes if they run into arrears.

Pennycook says the quality of amenities on these estates are "inferior" to those managed by councils, and "blight people's lives". 

He has launched a consultation on stronger regulation for these companies and forcing them to be more transparent with fees, with a deadline of mid-March.

Ministers have also asked the Law Commission to draw up plans on how homeowners on these estates could be given the right to manage their own open spaces and roads under government plans.

A prominent former Labour politician and his wide had denied misconduct in a public office, as has his wife. 

Derek Hatton gained national recognition in the 1980s as the deputy leader of Liverpool City Council. He was later expelled from Labour for belonging to Militant, a Trotskyist organisation, in 1986.

Hatton, who is now 77, and his 50-year-old wife, appeared at Manchester Crown Court earlier today.

The former politician entered a not guilty plea to a charge of counselling or procuring misconduct in a public office. 

His wife, Sonja Hatton, from Liverpool, also pleaded not guilty.

She is accused of providing her husband with confidential council information over matters of commercial and business use. 

Mr Hatton also pleaded not guilty at a hearing earlier this year to a charge of offering a bribe. 

In today's appearance, he used a hearing loop system to listen to the proceedings, and the pair sat together.

Both people were bailed and will stand trial in April 2027, along with former Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson, his son David Anderson and the council's former assistant director of highways and planning, Andrew Barr. 

Anderson, 67, of Knotty Ash in Liverpool, denies bribery, misconduct in a public office and conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office.

His 38-year-old son, of Wavertree, Liverpool, denies conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office and Barr, 51, of Ainsdale, Merseyside, denies conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office and accepting a bribe.

They were charged as part of an operation by Merseyside Police to look into the awarding of commercial and business contracts from the council between 2010 and 2020.

Six other defendants who were charged in connection with the investigation are due to stand trial in February next year.

Christian Turner is a mandarin's mandarin. 

His appointment to the most glamorous posting in the UK diplomatic service is a victory for the Sir Humphreys over the politicians.

After the disaster and humiliation of Peter Mandelson's demise over his links to Jeffrey Epstein, it always made sense to appoint a scandal-free career diplomat as his successor.

A father of two, Dr Turner is 53 but looks half his age. 

But his youthful appearance hides a long experience as a diplomat and civil servant, serving prime ministers dating back to Sir Tony Blair.

The Foreign Office announcement of his appointment describes him as "one of the UK's most experienced diplomats". And the top mandarins at the Foreign Office will be delighted they've got their man.

When Lord Mandelson was appointed last year, the senior cabinet minister Peter Kyle told Paste BN the government had decided that he was "worth the risk".

And what a risk it turned out to be. 

Will they never learn? "Mandy" – as he's always been known in Westminster – had previously been forced to resign from the cabinet not once, but twice.

He declared in an angry and defiant victory speech when he held his commons seat in Hartlepool: "I'm a fighter, not a quitter."

But not long after that he quit to become a Brussels commissioner.

Dr Turner, on the other hand, has enjoyed a stellar and unblemished career as a diplomat. 

His most high-profile international post so far was high commissioner to Pakistan, where he was said to be immensely popular.

One of his earlier diplomatic posts was high commissioner in Kenya, when he had to lead the UK's response to the Westgate Mall terrorist attack, in which 71 people were killed.

So he's seen as a safe pair of hands and is unlikely to attract scandal and controversy in the way that his predecessor did, with his relationships with colourful tycoons and oligarchs and love of the high life.

Nevertheless, the Washington posting comes with some of the best perks in the diplomatic world, notably the luxurious Lutyens mansion that serves as the ambassador's residence on Massachusetts Avenue.

Dr Turner saw off some distinguished rivals for the top job in the diplomatic service, including Varun Chandra, Sir Keir Starmer's business adviser, who is credited with being the architect of recent trade agreements with President Trump.

Until this week, he was seen as the frontrunner for the job and a sop for not getting the Washington post, he will now have an expanded role including taking a lead role in trade talks with the US.

A late entry in what became a three-horse race was Nigel Casey, Britain's ambassador in Moscow. 

But ultimately he was seen as indispensable in his current role given the volatile relations with President Putin and the continuing war in Ukraine.

The PM interviewed all three candidates last week and his choice of Dr Turner is seen as a victory for Sir Olly Robbins, the Foreign Office's top diplomat, whose career has prospered despite criticism of his role as the UK's post-Brexit negotiator, over government ministers.

Insiders claim there will be champagne corks popping in the Foreign Office's King Charles Street HQ because Dr Turner is their man and will report back to the FCDO rather than No 10.

If Lord Mandelson – the "prince of darkness" in his days as a Labour spin doctor - was seen as Sir Keir's "Trump whisperer", Dr Turner will be the PM's – and, more importantly, the Foreign Office's - eyes and ears.

Number 10 has been accused of "running scared" and posing a "danger to democracy" over plans to overhaul how journalists hold the PM to account - and how the government communicates with the public.

Tim Allan, Sir Keir Starmer's executive director of communications, has decided that from January, journalists will have fewer opportunities to quiz the PM's official spokesperson on government policy. 

In exchange, he has vowed to hold "occasional" ministerial news conferences, though in theory, Number 10 could control who asks the questions, and how many journalists can ask, in a way it currently doesn't.

You can see the full changes in our post at 17.33.

But the Conservatives has said Starmer "hates scrutiny".

A spokesperson for Kemi Badenoch said: "Keir Starmer is running scared. 

"This is a Labour government that hates scrutiny and blames everyone else for its failings. 

"A future Conservative government would reverse these changes and restore the afternoon lobby."

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have warned the government "will not improve its ability to communicate... by drastically reducing transparency and the media's daily access".

A spokesperson added: "Updating how it communicates to better reach people is vital, but that can't be done at the expense of scrutiny and accountability."

A spokesperson for Reform UK warned: "This government is cancelling elections, silencing the free press and paying influencers for positive content because it knows that it has lost the confidence of the British public. 

"They are a danger to democracy."

Dame Vera Baird has welcomed the government's strategy to tackle violence against women and girls (VAWG) as a "good start" - but warned that misogyny has "gone underground".

The former victims' commissioner tells the Politics Hub that open sexism and misogyny isn't heard on the streets "as you would have heard a couple of decades ago".

She points out how it's "no longer lawful to rape your wife" and that a husband isn't needed to give you a mortgage. 

But she says: "All of that's disappeared. But attitudes that underpin it have not significantly disappeared. 

"What I think has just got much, much worse is the sort of pounding from social media that all young people feel they must have because they need to be like everyone else. And some of that is incredibly unsavoury." 

She calls for a "force of a positive kind" to help young boys avoid this.

Baird says: "I think there is now a course available for young men who are worried about their own behaviour."

Alex Davies-Jones says that "the vast majority of women who are in prison shouldn't really be there".

The justice minister is speaking to the Politics Hub about the government's plans to tackle violence against women and girls (VAWG).

She admits that the "vast majority of women in prison are victims themselves".

Davies-Jones tells Paste BN: "I have visited, sadly, many women in prison since I've been in this position as victims minister. And that is why the government was determined to reduce this.

"I want to be clear that they will always be a prison place available for someone who needs it, for somebody who was a danger to society, regardless of if they're a man or a woman. But ultimately, the vast majority of women who are in prison shouldn't really be there."

But she adds that: "I don't want to vilify men and boys. 

The minister explains: "I want to bring them in as allies in this fight with us, because they're victims of this, too. 

"They are victims of what is happening with misogyny and the behaviours in our society causing them to take on these harmful behaviours. And we need to bring them in in this fight with us."

A minister has suggested the UK has become "desensitised" to violence against women and girls (VAWG).

It comes after the government published its strategy to tackle VAWG this morning, which it says aims to halve the levels of violence over a decade.

Speaking to the Politics Hub, Alex Davies-Jones suggests that the target is "ambitious", but says it has to be "because we are currently living with a national emergency of violence against women and girls".

Asked why the problem has become so prevalent, the minister for victims and tackling VAWG tells Paste BN: "I wish I knew. 

"I can guess and I can surmise that it is down to being desensitised to this, a lack of trust in the systems and support networks that are meant to be there to help when things go wrong, whether that be the police or the criminal justice system. So we need to rebuild all of that. 

"It's also about education and teaching, young men and boys and our young women and girls that this type of behaviour is wholly unacceptable."

She adds that all of this will "take time" and says it's "not going to be an easy fix overnight to change millennia of cultural, ingrained misogyny".

But Davies-Jones also says "huge strides as a society" have already been made "in terms of moving the dial... on equality coming forward".

'We will all know a perpetrator of these crimes'

She points to the government scrapping "archaic, horrific criminal offences" from the statute book.

The junior minister adds: "But there's still so much more to do. 

"If you scratch the surface, sadly, I think it's the case that we will all know a perpetrator of these crimes because the stats speak for themselves. 

"We've all heard that down the pub, or a friend who makes a joke that goes too far, and that's how this slowly creeps in, and it's slowly deemed acceptable."

But she insists VAWG is not acceptable and there is "never an excuse for it".

She points to part of the government's strategy, which involves preventative work, targeting perpetrators with tailored programmes. 

"They might be victims themselves from childhood," she explains. 

"They may have problems with drug and alcohol, with anger management. So it's really about trying to get them to stop their dangerous behaviour and then also preventing it from escalating."