By Jason Farrell, Political Correspondent
Party leaders have raised questions over who should appear in the live leaders' debates after broadcasters released proposals to include Nigel Farage.
Sky News, the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 have suggested a 4-3-2 strategy where the Prime Minister would debate Ed Miliband in one debate, the two would be joined by Nick Clegg for another and add Mr Farage for the final debate.
David Cameron questioned the inclusion of UKIP saying: "If you have one person, then the Greens have an MP as well, so you have to think these things through.
"It's an interesting proposal. None of us had seen it beforehand. I'm sure we'll study it and I'm sure there will be other proposals along before long.
"I've always been in favour of TV debates. I'm in favour of TV debates, but you've got to make sure you come up with a proposal that everyone can agree to, and I can't see how you can have one party in that has an MP in Parliament, and not another party."
Both the Green Party and UKIP have one MP in Westminster but only Mr Farage has been included in the plans for the debates.
Mr Farage said: "This is better than it could have been. At last, there is a recognition of UKIP but if the political situation changed, we will expect to be included in the second debate."
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said: "I don't accept Liberal Democrats should be excluded from any debate. We are a party of Government."
Green Party leader Natalie Bennett said: "It is clear from votes and polls that the public are fed up with the three business-as-usual parties and are looking around for alternatives."
The Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood and SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson MP both said they should also be included in televised debates.
YouGov pollster Peter Kellner said the plan was a "very, very smart proposal". He said Mr Cameron's internal advice from his strategic adviser Lynton Crosby would be to avoid televised debates that give "Nigel Farage an opening".
He told Sky News: "David Cameron has the most to lose and Nigel Farage has the most to gain."
Sky Bet puts Mr Farage as favourite to win in a four-way debate, with Mr Cameron trailing him. Separately in a head-to-head between Mr Cameron and Mr Miliband, the Conservative leader is favourite to win.
The format for 2015 would see three different styles of debate. Sky News and Channel 4 would broadcast the head-to-head contest between Mr Cameron and Mr Miliband, which would be chaired by former Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman with Sky News' Kay Burley introducing the programme and presenting post-debate analysis.
The BBC would broadcast a similar debate to the 2010 format where the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat leaders are pitted against each other. This would be presented by David Dimbleby.
ITV would have a four-way contest between the Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and UKIP leaders. This would be chaired by ITV presenter Julie Etchingham.
The news organisations describe the debates as "vital in engaging voters with the political process" and have written to Mr Cameron, Mr Miliband, Mr Clegg and Mr Farage inviting them to take part.
1/3
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Gallery: Leaders' Debates: A 4-3-2 Line-Up
Sky News and Channel 4: David Cameron v Ed Miliband
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BBC: David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg
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ITV: David Cameron, Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage
The leaders have agreed in principle to the debates, but the Prime Minister has resisted pinning down the detail and other party leaders have accused him of dragging his feet.
The Head of Sky News John Ryley said: "There are only 24 weeks to go before the start of the General Election Campaign.
"Sky, Channel 4, the BBC and ITV have put together a clear compelling proposal; three debates during the election campaign. It's now critical that the political parties engage and start negotiating for the debates seriously."
The proposal for the 2015 debates suggest the three debates take place at fortnightly intervals beginning in early April. The suggested dates are April 2, April 16 and April 30.
Live debates have now become a normal part of the political landscape. Mr Clegg and Mr Farage clashed over Europe, and the bitter battles between Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling energised the Scottish independence fight.
While 2010 was the television election, drawing 22 million viewers, 2015 will engage more widely with voters online and using social media.
As well as live studio audiences, comprising members of the general public, questions will also be provided to the leaders using social media including Twitter and Facebook to ensure the widest possible audience engagement. Each broadcaster will make their debate available live to all other media outlets.
In a joint statement, the news organisations said: "All four broadcasters believe televised party leader debates are vital in engaging voters with the political process. The broadcasters intend to transmit the leaders debates live for all their extensive audiences, on air, online and on social media, which together have a mass reach amongst the British population."
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