He may be dealing with strikes in the NHS and huge reforms of the health service, but the health secretary has found some time for a chat with The Observer.

And as you would expect, one of main questions on the lips of his interview was about his ambitions to succeed Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister.

Wes Streeting said: "The closer I see that job and the pressure on Keir and the demands of that job, the more I wonder why anyone would want it, which is definitely not the answer I would have given as a 15-year-old when I joined the Labour party."

But he immediately clarified to journalist Rachel Sylvester that he is not ruling himself out.

"I'm diplomatically ducking the question to avoid any more of
silly soap opera we've had in the last few months," Streeting said.

Asked if thinks Britain would vote for a gay prime minister, he said: "One of the things Iʼm proud of about this country, is that we have an atheist prime minister with a Jewish wife who succeeded our first Hindu prime minister who succeeded a number of women.

"I think this country is an inclusive, welcoming, decent and kind country."

Pushed for a yes or no, Streeting said: "Yes, but I want to make it explicitly clear that this is not a pitch or a job application. The prime minister's got my absolute support."

The health secretary was also about the prospect of joining the customs union with the EU - something Sir Keir Starmer has ruled out.

He said: "We've taken a massive economic hit leaving the European Union.

"I'm really uncomfortable with the level of taxation in this country. We're asking a lot of individual taxpayers, we're asking a lot of businesses."

Noting the size of the national debt, Streeting argued that the best way to grow the economy is "a deeper trading relationship with the EU".

It appears to be good news. Inflation fell by more than expected, according to data released last week. 

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...

Does society have a cultural problem when it comes to teaching boys about sexual violence? The Labour government certainly thinks so with its new strategy.

Home Office minister and former podcaster Jess Phillips tells Beth in this episode why the strategy has taken so long and how she's changing the focus towards prevention.

But will their new approach work? Can we just rely on teachers to step in and keep women and girls safe? Beth, Ruth and Harriet discuss their responsibilities as parents of boys when it comes to talking about what they see online.

Also, who is on top in politics at the end of 2025? The ladies give Kemi Badenoch credit and Ruth gives a surprise answer on who is going to have a very good 2026.

This episode includes discussions of sexual violence. The Rape Crisis offers help and advice.

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You can WhatsApp the podcast at 07934 200 444 or email electoraldysfunction@sky.uk.

And if you didn't know, you can also watch Beth, Harriet and Ruth on YouTube.

It's been a difficult 12 months for Sir Keir Starmer and his government, with the party plummeting in the polls.

But one "Labour MP" (comedian Rosie Holt) had plenty to say in defence of their efforts so far.

Watch below...

We've just had the latest figures from the Home Office on small boat crossings, which show that more than a thousand people have made the journey this week.

On Saturday, 803 migrants crossed the Channel on 13 boats - the highest number to make the crossing on a single day since 8 October.

Yesterday's arrivals pushed the week's total to 1,374 people on 23 boats, and the total for the year so far to 41,455 people in 671 boats.

It solidifies 2025's position as the year with the second-highest number of small boat crossings ever recorded, behind 2022 which saw 45,755 people make the journey.

Next on the show is Joe Bennett, the son of British couple Lindsay and Craig Foreman who have been detained in Iran for almost a year.

He tells Trevor Phillips he met with Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper in the last couple of months and remains in contact with the government about his parents, but suggests nothing concrete is being done to negotiate their release.

"There is this policy, it seems, to just sort of sit and wait and allow this judicial process - which is, in my eyes, a complete circus - to play out," Bennett says.

"We were told almost two months ago when they were last in court that a sentence would be passed in a couple of weeks. We're now two months down the line and nothing has happened.

"We need to be more accountable as a government and speaking out. They are accused of espionage and spying for the British state, and yet that same UK government won't come out and defend them and say that they completely deny the allegations."

Both the UK and Iran are waiting for each other to make a move on the issue, but insist quiet diplomacy is taking place, Bennett says.

Asked if he feels let down, he adds: "Yeah - let down, disappointed, angry, frustrated, sad. There's so many emotions that come into it.

"But towards the government I think frustrated is the number one word, because they're very good at communicating and absorbing, frustration and being a sponge for the emotions, but that to us doesn't get the end result."

Speaking about the conditions his parents are facing in Iran, Bennett says: "My mum's suffering a lot with her skin and weight, because the ventilation in the place is not very good. 

"It is extremely dirty. She's cooking in kitchens filled with rats. I mean, it is dire, to be honest with you, for them both.

"They can't really exercise, it's overcrowded, it's cramped, and Craig's really struggling at the moment.

"He's had an abscess in his tooth for a couple of months, and he won't get it treated in the hospital because he says the conditions are just not up to par, and he doesn't want to make it any worse."

Next with Tory deputy chair Matt Vickers, Trevor Phillips asks about the councils that have said they will request a delay to next year's local elections due to the local government reorganisation being undertaken.

Paste BN contacted the 63 councils that have had the offer from government, and two Tory-led councils said they will be requesting a delay, and as have some led by other parties.

But Vickers tells Trevor that "most Conservative councils have said no".

"In fact, we voted against the legislation that was being brought forward to move these things," he continues.

"Some of these people are going to see a delay of two years in their elections. A five-year term, a seven-year term, even, for a council.

"That's wrong. That is democracy denied. It's the wrong thing to do. We need to get on with the job. We've selected great candidates. We are ready to fight those elections. We need to see the government getting on with it."

He also says the Labour chair's statement that there is "no change to a plan for a general election" in 2029, which was not as definitive as some might like, is "a bit scary".

Tory deputy chair Matt Vickers is the next guest on the show.

Trevor Phillips starts by asking him if the Conservatives have had negotiations yet with Reform about an electoral pact.

Vickers replies: "No - we're going to go out there and smash these next elections. 

"The reality is we had a tough general election. If anybody thought that we were going to dust ourselves off and be back in the game within months, then they're a bit mad."

"There's actually a big dividing ground out there. The big division between us and the other parties is that we're the party on the side of working people," he continues.

"We're not going to go around nationalising everything that moves, we're not going to tax them to death, we're not going to give away limitless levels of benefits, we're not going to remove the two-child cap like Reform, like Labour. 

"We're here for working people who are doing the right thing."

Asked by Trevor if he should accept reality after the Conservative chairman said he'd be open to a coalition with Reform after the next election, Vickers replies: "No. We're going to be delivering.

"What I'm telling you is that we're going to deliver a Conservative majority government."

Next with Labour Party chair Anna Turley, Trevor Phillips turns to the politics of the last year, and Sir Keir Starmer's position.

She said the government has "taken a lot of difficult decisions this year" to "stabilise the economy", but we are now "starting to see that recovery".

"As we go into the new year, I'm really optimistic about delivering the kind of change that people voted for last year, and to see them starting to see and feel it in their pockets and in their local communities," she said.

Trevor notes that the government is vastly unpopular, and so asks if the voters simply haven't noticed "how lucky they've been".

Turley replies: "Well, I think rightly, people are impatient for change. We all are. And people voted for change - that was on the front of our manifesto last year.

"But it takes time to deliver that. It takes time to stabilise things from the chaos that we inherited."

She points to the Employment Rights Bill, which only passed through parliament last week, which will deliver change over the coming year.

Turley goes on: "We live in the real world. We know things are still hard.

"But I'm conscious with every single day that goes by next year, people will really start to see and feel more money in their pockets, better public services when they're looking for an appointment with a doctor, their streets and the neighbourhoods are looking better and better, and that change takes time.

"But we will be delivering that in the new year, and I'm confident people can really start to see that."

Asked directly if Sir Keir Starmer will be Labour leader and prime minister by next Christmas, Turley replies: "Of course. Absolutely.

"As I said, people will really start to see and feel the change in their pockets. He has got a very clear vision for making sure that people can really deal with the cost of living, that public services will get back on their [...] feet.

"And he's building a Britain that is one that is tolerant, that is open, that is confident in itself. And that is really about renewal and investment in young people as opposed to the division and the decline of the opposition."