| TUESDAY 14 AUGUST 22:30 BST - BBC TWO FROM KIRSTY WARK Hello to viewers in the four constituent parts of the UK, and beyond ScotlandWe begin tonight with the First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond's plans for a referendum on independence for Scotland. In their election manifesto the nationalists promised a white paper on a referendum within 100 days of an SNP administration. But the opposition parties have ganged up on the minority administration to oppose any referendum, and without the support of a substantial grouping (and so a majority) its hard to see how a referendum could become a reality. Alex Salmond has called for a "national conversation" and the White Paper encompasses not only the Independence option but what's been nicknamed the "devolution max" position under which the Scottish Parliament could have a range of new powers including for example fiscal powers, energy policy, or broadcasting. At the same time the three opposition parties will now jointly review the devolution settlement opening the way to the accrual of further powers. So it is a potentially dynamic situation which poses a number of questions for the Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Will there be constructive engagement? Tonight I'll be interviewing Alex Salmond. And to discuss Scotland's next step, I'll then be talking to Lord Forsyth the Conservative former Secretary of State for Scotland, who urges the Conservatives to back the referendum in order to shoot Alex Salmond's fox for once and for all, to the Liberal Democrats' Lord Steel who was the first Presiding Officer of the Parliament, and to the Labour MSP and former Scottish Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson. PakistanAnd as Pakistan celebrates sixty years since partition we'll be hearing live from Islamabad: author and former BBC correspondent Mark Tully has made a film for Newsnight to coincide with India's independence anniversary tomorrow. He'll be looking at how the country has changed, whether it is as tolerant as it likes to think it is, and whether the caste system is such a prominent feature of Indian society as it was 60 years ago. He'll also be assessing how diverse a culture exists in this democracy, whether America's influence is too pervasive, and if religious tolerance is actually on the wane. Lord Biffen Remembered"A great parliamentarian and respected Leader of the House of Commons". That was the Prime Minister's tribute to the former Conservative Minister John Biffen who died early today. Lord Biffen was in Mrs Thatcher's Cabinet first as Chief Secretary to the Treasury but famously fell out with her whereupon he was described as a "semi-detached" member of the Cabinet. Lord Heseltine said that description referred to his ability to see both sides of the argument and that he was a very cerebral politician with a fine mind. This and more besides at 10.30pm. Do catch us if you can. Kirsty Missed Newsnight?Click here to watch the latest programme onlineNewsnight BlogAdd your comments to our correspondents' blogs | 
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