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Gordon Brown is to announce that the general election will be held, as expected, on 6 May. The 50p tax rate for people earning £150,000 or more comes into force with the start of the new financial year. And former Labour leader Lord Kinnock describes the ups and the downs of election campaigns.

To speed up the loading time for this running order, we have replaced the audio with links. To hear the reports, interviews and discussions, just click on the links.

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0709
The prime minister will announce today that the general election will be held Thursday 6 May. But what happens now? The Times's assistant editor and Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government, Peter Riddell discusses what happens what will happen before parliament dissolves.

0713
A controversial bill which could see illegal downloaders disconnected from the internet is being debated in the Commons. Opponents say the Digital Economy Bill is likely to be rushed through parliament with insufficient time for proper debate. Technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones outlines the widespread opposition to the bill.

0716
The business news with Adam Shaw.

0719
The Conservatives have pledged to make it possible for parents and teachers to set up new schools by weakening the powers of local authorities. Correspondent Sanchia Berg has been to Bristol, where a group of parents are campaigning to set up a new school.

0724
Forty-three people died yesterday following an attack on the United States consulate in the Pakistani city of Peshawar. Editor of the Dawn News in Pakistan Zaffar Abbas discusses whether violence is getting worse in the north-west of the country.

0727
Sports news with Rob Bonnet.

0735
Gordon Brown is about to announce that the general election will, as expected, be held on 6 May. He will say the campaign represents "the big choice". Today presenter John Humphrys has been asking people how they feel about the way the country has changed in the past 13 years.

0740
The paper review.

0743
'Fit notes' - instead of 'sick notes' - come into force today with the aim of getting people who are ill back to work more quickly. Middleborough GP and spokesman for the British Medical Association Dr John Canning discusses how this scheme will work and how it differs from the current one.

0745
Thought for the day with Anne Atkins, novelist and columnist.

0750
The Digital Economy Bill, to be debated in the Commons today, could see illegal downloaders disconnected from the internet, and sites which host copyright material blocked. Geoff Taylor, chief executive of the BPI, which represents the UK recording industry, and David Babbs, director of 38 Degrees, a campaign group opposing the bill, discuss whether this bill is being given sufficient time for proper debate.

0810
Gordon Brown is to announced that the general election will be held on 6 May. Former Labour leader Lord Kinnock discusses what promises to be the most fiercely-contested election campaign for a generation.

0822
People in the central Italian city of L'Aquila are beginning a series of events to mark the first anniversary of the earthquake that killed hundreds and left tens of thousands homeless. Maria Spennati, who lost her home in the quake, outlines her view that the authorities are making a mess of the clean up.

0824
Sports news with Rob Bonnet.

0835
Business leaders are renewing their call for a review of public sector pensions, and for a shift from "unsustainable" final salary schemes. Head of pensions policy at the CBI Neil Carberry and independent pensions consultant John Ralfe discuss the scale of the alleged problem.

0841
The business news with Adam Shaw.

0842
Prisoners in Georgia are being given the chance to leave jail as long as they agree to serve out their sentence in a monastery. Georgia correspondent Tom Esslemont reports from the capital, Tblis, where the government-backed scheme is stoking controversy.

0846
British forces continue to take casualties in Afghanistan. On Sunday, the MOD confirmed that a soldier with the 3rd Battalion, The Rifles, was killed in Helmand. The Evening Standard's defence correspondent Robert Fox is writing about book about the regiment and discusses how it has taken more hits than any other unit in the country.

0850
The forthcoming election will feature leaders' TV debates and increased use of the internet, social networking and twitter. American pollster Frank Luntz discusses the debates' format and Strathclyde University's Prof John Curtice and media pundit Steve Hewlett outline the challenges for UK political parties if they are to engage fully with new media.

PLEASE NOTE: We are unable to offer transcripts for our programme interviews. Today is broadcast live and the running order is subject to change.

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