Ed Balls today ambushed George Osborne on live TV by forcing him to agree to take part in a head-to-head election debate on the economy . The Tories had tried to argue that they would not discuss the idea of a clash between the would-be Chancellors until the leaders ' debate had been resolved - which seems unlikely . But appearing together on BBC One , Mr Balls forced Mr Osborne to shake on the deal , raising the prospect that it could be the only televised election debate between the two parties before polling day . Appearing together on BBC One , Ed Balls forced George Osborne to shake on the deal , raising the prospect that it could be the only televised election debate between the two parties before polling day . Mr Balls insisted Prime Minister David Cameron may be 'scared ' of a one-on-one debate with Labour leader Ed Miliband but he was up for the showdown with Mr Osborne . After he was put on the spot , the Chancellor shook Mr Balls 's hand but suggested Danny Alexander , Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury , should be included . Speaking on BBC One 's the Andrew Marr Show , Mr Osborne said he was sure an election debate between the different finance spokesmen of the parties would take place . Asked if he was keen on the debate , shadow chancellor Mr Balls replied : 'Of course , and I would like to go further . George and I do n't need the broadcasters to sort these things out . Mr Osborne tried to claim that his Lib Dem deputy Danny Alexander should be included as well . 'George is not a coward . David Cameron does n't want a head-to-head with Ed Miliband but I 'm very happy - I will have a head-to-head debate , just the two of us , the potential chancellors during the election campaign . Addressing Mr Osborne , he said : 'You can say now - are you up for it ? ' The Chancellor replied : 'As I say , happy to have these chancellors ' debate , just as we did in the last election . ' Mr Balls extended his hand out to Mr Osborne to shake on a one-on-one debate , telling the Chancellor : 'Come on George , let 's go for it . ' Mr Osborne appeared hesitant , saying he would be happy to meet Mr Balls in a debate . He shook the shadow chancellor 's hand , adding to Mr Balls : 'We 're going to see who else wants to be part of it . I have got a very effective Chief Secretary who I think would also want to be part of that debate . ' Mr Balls added : 'If only David Cameron was up for a one-to-one debate like George , it would be alright - for some reason David Cameron is running scared . ' Mr Osborne said : ' I think we should include Danny Alexander . ' Mr Balls countered : 'No , one-to-one . We just shook on it . ' Speaking on BBC 5 Live 's Pienaar 's Politics , Mr Balls said he was unsure if Mr Osborne had agreed to the debate or not . He said : 'He started shaking hands and he was agreeing to a head-to-head debate with me . By the end of the handshake it sounded like he wanted to bring along his deputy Danny Alexander . 'It was clear and then it was unclear . I thought George Osborne was going to do what David Cameron has ducked for weeks and weeks . 'He started the handshake doing it - by the end , constructive ambiguity I think . ' Labour 's Ed Balls squirmed today as he repeatedly refused to rule out entering a power-sharing deal with the SNP . A surge in support for the Scottish Nationalists looks set to deprive Labour of a majority and leave Nicola Sturgeon 's MPs holding the balance of power . Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg today vowed never to enter coalition with a party which wanted to break up the union . Uncomfortable : Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls appearing on BBC One 's The Andrew Marr Show today . But Mr Balls refused to match the promise , despite being challenged as many as 12 times during a TV interview . He would only say that Labour has 'no plans , no need , no desire ' for a pact with the SNP . Challenged on BBC One 's Andrew Marr show , Mr Balls said parties who ignore the need to tackle the country 's deficit are 'completely wrong ' and 'irresponsible ' . But his opposition to the SNP did not stretch to categorically ruling out sitting in Cabinet with them . Told by Mr Marr to say the words `` I rule it out '' , Mr Balls replied : `` Ed Miliband said it 's nonsense . It 's not part of our plans . 'You know Andrew , you 've been covering politics for 30 years , parties , large parties at this stage say we 're fighting for a majority and we are . ' I 'm not going to get involved in speculation about post-election deals . 'We 're fighting for a majority . '
Labour shadow chancellor bounces his opponent into agreeing to contest . Appearing together on BBC One , he forced Osborne to shake on the deal . Osborne tried to suggest that Lib Dem Danny Alexander should take part . But Corbyn said it was not up to him and accused the Tories of trying to rig the election by rigging the rules so they could get a better deal.