Hats off to the Murdoch machine for going it alone and announcing an “empty chair” policy if a party leader fails to turn up.

It is nice to see that Cameron and Clegg have backed this from the start leaving Brown out in the cold.

I think this election will present the greatest opportunity to have such a debate in a more than a generation. As Brown is trailing massively in the polls he really has more to gain in a televised debate than Cameron. In fact, Cameron has a fair amount to lose by “going live”.

In both 2001 and 2005 Blair refused a live debate on the advice of Campell et al. and wisely so.

In 2001 he would have faced William Hague who is undoubtedly a formidable speaker and who would have been a very tough opponent for both Blair and Kennedy.

In 2005, Blair would have faced Michael Howard whose TV presence was always more unnerving given his “something of the night” reputation.

The main reason for Blair not facing his opponents in 2001 and 2005 was that he did not want to give the opposition parties credibility.

Brown’s problem is that both the Nick Clegg and David Cameron have more credibility in the public eye than he does.

If Brown fails to fill the empty chair then it will be an admission that he can not win the election and would rather hide in shadows until his post-election resignation.