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."

The elections watchdog has released a statement sharply criticising the government for offering to consider delaying 63 local council elections next year (see 08.24 post).

Labour Party chair Anna Turley tells Trevor Phillips the government is undertaking the biggest change in local government in 50 years. 

"This is a huge programme of local government reform, and it's right that we do it sensibly and calmly, and that takes time to deliver," she says.

Trevor puts to her that the government might find a political reason to put off the next general election, such as reform to the House of Lords.

But Turley points to "huge amount" of elections coming up in Scotland, Wales and London later this year.

Asked outright to clarify for viewers if there is going to be no delay to a general election, she replies: "We promised to get rid of hereditary peers, and we're undertaking that programme. So, you know that that is ongoing. 

"General elections always come at the decision of the prime minister, and that's the reality of the process that we have in this country. 

"I'm looking forward to spending the next couple of years setting out our programme for reform and delivery for the country."

Pushed yet again for a direct answer about the 2029 general election, Turley says: "Well, of course, the general election will come. The House of Lords aren't elected."

She adds: "There's no change to a plan for a general election."

The first guest on this last edition of Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips before Christmas is the Labour Party chair, Anna Turley.

Trevor starts by asking her what the government is doing to help British couple Lindsay and Craig Foreman, who have been detained in Iran in January while on a motorcycle tour of the world (more here).

She replies: "Obviously, it's a really, really difficult situation for them and for their families. And we think about them particularly at this time of year.

"So I'm sure the foreign secretary will be doing everything that they can to assist them, and it's something, of course, the government take seriously. We care for every British citizen around the country.

"So, I know that this time of year will be working hard to do everything we can to support the family."

Hear from the couple's son live shortly on Sky's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips.

Our flagship Sunday morning show, hosted by Trevor Phillips, is live on Paste BN now until 10am, and we have a packed line-up for you this morning.

Trevor will be speaking to:

• Labour Party chair Anna Turley;
• Tory deputy chair Matt Vickers;
• Son of couple detained in Iran, Joe Bennett;
• Political comedian Rosie Holt.

And on his expert panel will be:

• Politico executive editor Anne McElvoy;
• Former Lib Dem adviser Polly Mackenzie;
• Former Tory aide Salmah Shah.

Watch live on Paste BN and in the stream at the top of this page - and follow updates here in the Politics Hub.

By Ben Bloch, political reporter

The elections watchdog has criticised the government for offering to consider delaying 63 local council elections next year - as five authorities confirmed to Paste BN that they would ask for a postponement.

On Thursday, hours before parliament began its Christmas recess, the government revealed that councils were being sent a letter asking if they thought elections should be delayed in their areas due to challenges around delivering local government reorganisation plans.

The chief executive of the Electoral Commission, Vijay Rangarajan, hit out at the announcement on Friday, saying he was "concerned" that some elections could be postponed, with some having already been deferred from 2025.

"We are disappointed by both the timing and substance of the statement. Scheduled elections should, as a rule, go ahead as planned, and only be postponed in exceptional circumstances," he said in a statement.

"Decisions on any postponements will not be taken until mid-January, less than three months before the scheduled May 2026 elections are due to begin.

"This uncertainty is unprecedented and will not help campaigners and administrators who need time to prepare for their important roles."

Mr Rangarajan added: "We very much recognise the pressures on local government, but these late changes do not help administrators. Parties and candidates have already been preparing for some time, and will be understandably concerned."

He said "capacity constraints" were not a "legitimate reason for delaying long planned elections", which risked "affecting the legitimacy of local decision-making and damaging public confidence".

The watchdog chief also said there was "a clear conflict of interest in asking existing councils to decide how long it will be before they are answerable to voters".

Paste BN contacted the 63 councils that have been sent the letter about potentially delaying their elections.

At the time of publication, 17 authorities had replied with their decisions, while 33 said they would make up their minds before the government's deadline of 15 January.

Good morning!

Welcome back to the Politics Hub on this Sunday, 21 December.

Politics has almost signed off for the Christmas holiday, but we have one last edition of Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips to bring you live on Paste BN from 8.30am.

We'll be hearing from Labour Party chair Anna Turley, who will be keen to tout their analysis showing that the average pay packet has risen by £516 in real terms since last year's general election.

She will also be asked about Sir Keir Starmer's future, as talk continues about whether he could face a leadership challenge after May's local elections (the ones going ahead, at least!), which are not expected to go well for Labour.

Tory deputy chair Matt Vickers will be on the show to make the case against Labour, as ever, and also wants to talk about what the party is calling "travel chaos" in Dover.

The son of a British couple detained in Iran, Joe Bennett, will also be speaking to Trevor about his parents' plight, and what he wants the government to do about it.

And to round off the year with a laugh, political comedian Rosie Holt is also on the show.

On Trevor's panel until 10am will be Politico executive editor Anne McElvoy, journalist Polly Mackenzie, and former Tory aide Salmah Shah.

Follow along for live coverage of the show from 8.30am.

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.