Banking bonuses
You know the is changing the terms of trade of British politics when you have a Labour government reluctant to and a Tory opposition saying they are unacceptable -- oh yes, and you have that well-known bipartisan Consensus King John Prescott organising an all-party online campaign against them.
The government is on the ropes over bank bonuses, though the matter is more complicated than populist media coverage suggests and it's an easy issue on which opposition politicians can carp from the sidelines.
Bonuses for the executives who have brought our banking system to its knees are obviously unacceptable to almost everybody; but bonuses for those further down the banking food chain are often a big part of their remuneration.
That might lead to perverse incentives but it cannot be unravelled quickly. Even so, whatever the felicities, it is a toxic issue for the government.
The Government has called on the - which might strike many as inadequate -- but has stopped short of ordering banks to cancel bonuses, which is probably what most voters desire.
They say they'll put new pay guidelines in any new agreements made with banks seeking help under the government's new multi-billion pound scheme to insure the banks against future bad losses. But that's unlikely to satisfy a growing anti-banker mood. We'll be looking at the details.
Also on the show today - ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Secretary Jacqui Smith is in hot water over thousands of pounds in she's claimed for her constituency home. She insists she's followed the rules, but that hasn't stopped one newspaper labelling her the 'minister for dodgy expenses'. We'll discuss this with the political editor Ben Brogan.
David Cameron says he wants to send - 'if they're good enough'.
Does it matter where politicians' children go to school? And we look at the cosy Westminster club of lobby journalists.
All that on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ2 from noon today and later on the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iPlayer.
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