The Daily Politics - 22/01/2010

Jo Coburn has the top political stories of the day. Two budding politicians are in the studio. Labour's Rachel Reeves and the Conservatives' Jeremy Brier both want to become MPs, but before they face the electorate they face Jo. President Obama promised he is up for a fight as he announced a series of measures aimed at curbing the riskier activities of banks. The plans have caused widespread concern in the financial markets, with shares dropping on both sides of the Atlantic. The programme looks at whether the measures could work in the UK. It's emerged that Gordon Brown will give evidence to the Iraq Inquiry before the general election. What could the implications be for the Prime Minister? Earlier in the week Munir Hussain, the man who attacked an intruder with a cricket bat, was freed by the Court of Appeal. The case has again brought into question the law on self-defence, with the Conservatives saying they would introduce legislation that would mean people being prosecuted only if their actions were deemed 'grossly disproportionate'. Munir Hussain's solicitor, Razi Shah, speaks to the programme. Believe it or not there's an election approaching - however, we might wake up the next day and not know who's running the country. That's because more and more councils are opting to start counting the day after, as opposed to the night of the election. John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons, tells the programme why he thinks those councils need to pull their finger out. Giles Dilnot has the week's run-down of the top political stories.