Wednesday, 31 October, 2007
- 31 Oct 07, 06:53 PM
Cash for Votes Allegations
Tonight, a special investigation into dramatic allegations that Labour tried to bribe their way into power in Birmingham Council.
We've spoken to locals who say they were offered cash for postal votes, and hear claims that drug addicts were paid to impersonate voters.
We'll have the full story and live reaction.
Election 2007
Had Gordon Brown gone ahead with calling an election earlier this month, today would be the eve of polling with frenetic last minute appeals to voters. Let's just imagine a parallel universe where an election had been called, what would have happened in the campaign - would Labour be struggling to keep their majority, or heading for a clear victory? It's a good chance to see how the British political scene has changed in the last three weeks. We have a panel of political grandees who have seen it all before - Ken Clarke, Charles Kennedy and Roy Hattersley.
Child Labour and Cotton
We have a follow up to last night's extraordinary film by Simon Ostrovsky into the cotton industry in Uzbekistan. The film showed child labour picking cotton for very little money. Some of the cotton is eventually used in clothing sold by major retail outlets in the UK. Simon has spoken to Britain's high street chains and asked for their reaction to his report; we'll reveal what they said.
Cancer - A report too far?
On the Newsnight website today, some of you said you were interested in the report by the World Cancer Research Fund into the links between lifestyle and cancer. Their recommendations seem pretty tough - try not to gain weight as an adult, avoid sugary drinks, alcohol and bacon. Do these reports do any good or are they counter-productive? If two-thirds of all cancers have nothing to do with lifestyle, is it wrong to give the impression that we can control the disease?
Dracula
A restored version of the classic Hammer film Dracula is out in time for Halloween. Steve Smith looks at the film that dramatically changed British cinema and the horror movie, and considers how the genre has changed since those innocent days.
Before each morning meeting the programme’s producers are sent an e-mail suggesting the stories we might like to think about before getting together, with plenty of scope to bring new ideas to the meeting.