Wednesday, 11 July, 2007
- 11 Jul 07, 05:18 PM
Tonight's programme is presented by .
GORDON'S GRAND DESIGNS
It was demolition followed by the promise of construction. In just 10 minutes, the Prime Minister Gordon Brown got rid of centuries of tradition, by announcing a whole raft of Queen's speech legislation without, indeed, the Queen. Michael Crick will be looking at Gordon's "blueprint", and why he's decided to announce it now.
The Prime Minister's main focus - first and foremost - was on housing. He pledged to build three million new houses by 2020 and said the government would release 550 publicly-owned, brownfield sites for housing development. Few dispute the difficulties many face getting on the property ladder when supply is so squeezed. But the big question - which we will tackle head on tonight with the three main parties - is where, exactly, will they build and will it be enough?
SUPERCASINO CLIMB DOWN?
No less controversial was Gordon Brown's implicit suggestion that the super-casino programme needed a rethink, possibly even a u-turn. He raised concerns about whether super-casinos are the best way to regenerate badly deprived areas. Paul Mason delves into the mystery of the missing casinos.
RUSSIA'S FAR EAST
A sparsely populated bit of Russia - in the far far east of the country - is seeing an influx of neighbouring Chinese. For China, this part of Russia is an empty land of opportunity rich in minerals and trading possibilities. But is its destiny Asian? And how, exactly, how do the Russians feel about the presence of so many Chinese traders? A fascinating film from the award winning Rupert Wingfield-Hayes.
