DAVID Cameron has called for yet more talks with the broadcasters as they rejected his proposal to bring the party leaders' TV election debates forward before the final month of the General Election campaign.
The Prime Minister's move came as he was denounced once more by his political opponents for his "ludicrous" wriggling in what they believe is a brazen attempt to stop the debates from happening altogether.
Nick Clegg, the Deputy PM, said: "The danger with this increasingly laughable way in which the Conservatives are pushing the broadcasters to invite an ever larger cast of people is that just imagine what it's going to be like for the viewing public. By the time everyone has done their one-minute introduction, the whole nation will have switched over to Coronation Street."
Ed Miliband said: "David Cameron's becoming ridiculous on this issue...using the dog ate my homework excuses."
The broadcasters have put forward proposals for three live TV debates to be held on April 2, 16 and 30 with the first clash coming just days after the UK Parliament dissolves on March 30 and the final broadcast a week ahead of the May 7 poll.
But Mr Cameron has called for the televised showdowns to be staged earlier, warning that the debates "sucked the life out" of the campaign when they were first held in 2010.
The BBC and ITV rejected his proposal and reiterated their position that the network debates would go ahead even if any of the invited leaders declined to participate.
"We are proposing the debates should happen within the campaign period at a time when the parties will be setting out policies in their manifestos and when the audience is fully engaged with the election," the broadcasters explained in a statement.
"The 2015 campaign will be nearly six weeks long and there is plenty of time for three debates to be held without overshadowing the rest of the campaign."
They added: "In the event that any of the invited party leaders decline to participate, debates will take place with the party leaders who accept the invitation."
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