Go on Gordon. Gamble. Enough of prime ministerial hesitation. Break the habit of a lifetime. Throw the dice. Pick up David Cameron’s challenge to go head to head on television. Better still, say you want three pre-election debates not one. There is nothing left to lose.

Gordon Brown’s government is drowning. With nine months at most before the general election, it trails Mr Cameron’s Conservatives by 15 points and more in the polls. Unemployment is rising fast. After 12 years of Labour and a year of deep recession, the voters think it is time for a change. The grim fate of Germany’s Social Democratic party beckons. A sizeable number in his own party would like the prime minister to step down. Some think they might yet be able to oust him from 10 Downing Street if the polls have not improved in a month or two. The BBC, the nation’s publicly-funded broadcaster, has joined conservative-minded blogs in peddling rumour about Mr Brown’s state of mind.