URN

On the show this week:

The big society - David Cameron's big idea but what is it?? Should it be a priority for the government and is it just a cover for cuts?

China is now the world's second biggest economy - should the rest of the world be worried?

The Conservative Party have been auctioning off student internships at a recent fundraising event - is this right? Does it contradict the government's message?

Plus more coverage of university funding!!

Let us know any views below. We are on air 6-7pm on Wednesday. Listen in!

State Multiculturalism:

David Cameron has said state multiculturalism has failed and has called for more scrutiny of Muslim groups who get public money but do little to tackle extremism. Is he right? Or was Sadiq Khan MP, Shadow Justice Secretary, right when he said that the Prime Minister was "writing propaganda material for the EDL"?

Tuition Fees:

The Chair of the Russell Group, which includes Nottingham, has said that the top universities will charge the maximum £9,000 a year. Oxford and Cambridge have confirmed they will charge this amount for courses starting in 2012. Doesn't this contradict the government's position that the 'majority' of universities would not charge over £6,000 a year.

Also on the show:

Labour has said that police numbers will be cut by 10,000.
AOL buys the Huffington Post online newspaper for $315m.
Should the Speaker have taken action over Labour MPs mocking of an MP with cerebral palsy?

Let us know your thoughts on any of these issues.

This week, the panel will be discussing:

The Budget and the Chancellors' Debate

On Monday night, the prospective Chancellors of the three largest parties met in televised debate. How did they perform, and what (if anything) did they tell us about the future of the British economy?

Mephedrone

The Home Office is moving to ban the 'legal high' Mephedrone following a spate of deaths. But is that appropriate, or the result of a moral panic? What are the implications for the broader U.K. drugs policy?

The "Special Relationship" with the U.S.

The Commons Foreign Affairs committee has said that the term "special relationship" should be dropped as a term to describe diplomacy between the U.K. and the U.S. Is the nature of our relationship with America changing?

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments

Today the panel will be covering:

American Healthcare Reform

After much debate, the American healthcare reform bill has finally passed congress and will shortly be signed into law. How significant are the reforms, and do they go far enough?

Unions and BA

The union Unite has begun strikes in protest over cost-cutting plans by BA, despite various negotiation attempts between the two sides. Are the strikes justified? Is there a political aspect to them?

Lobbying

Channel 4 and The Times investigated the practice of lobbying this week and claimed several MPs, some of whom were ex-Ministers, were willing to try to influence policy in exchange for money. This has brought considerable attention to the practice of lobbying, labelled by David Cameron as the next big political scandal. Are the current restrictions on lobbying sufficient?

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments.

This week the panel will be covering:

Personality in the Election

Gordon Brown's office has recently been accused of instances of bullying, following the publication of Andrew Rawnsley's book. Earlier, he gave a deliberately non-political interview to Piers Morgan. Can the allegations damage the Labour election campaign, and does personality matter in politics?

Mossad Passport Allegations

Allegations have arisen that the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad was responsible for the assassination of a senior figure in the Palestinian Hamas movement in Dubai. Further, it has been alleged that the killers were using fake British, Irish, German and French passports. What are the potential international consequences of this, and if the allegations are true what sanctions can or will be imposed?

Early Release Scheme

The government is to phase-out the early release scheme in England and Wales which was designed to deal overcrowding of prisons. The scheme is set to end on 9th April, since the government say that there are now enough spare places in the prison system. Should the scheme have been created in the first place, and should it be ended?

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments.