Nigel Farage should be excluded from the television debates before the general election next year, Ed Miliband has said.

As Nick Clegg licked his wounds following his second consecutive defeat at the hands of the Ukip leader in their televised debate on the EU, Miliband called for a repeat of the debates involving the three main party leaders in 2010.

Asked during an appearance at the Guardian whether he would include Farage in the debates if he were in charge of drawing up the rules, the Labour leader said: "No. Look, I think the format we had last time with parties that have representation in parliament is a good format. In the end it is for the broadcasters to decide who they invite. They have got their own rules and they have got to follow their rules. I look forward to debating David Cameron. I am not that interested in Nigel Farage. I care about debating David Cameron."

Miliband said that reviving the so-called "three by three" debates – three debates involving the leaders of the three main parties during the three-week general election campaign – was the best way of guaranteeing their survival. He said: "The big challenge we are going to have in relation to the leaders' debates is getting all three leaders into a debate. David Cameron is desperate to avoid having these TV election debates because all of the conventional wisdom on the Tory side is that they didn't do him any good last time. He will try and do anything to avoid these debates. That is why we have said: we had the debate with three leaders last time, same format – three debates, three leaders – let's have that. If the broadcasters want to invite other people that is a matter for them. But I think our best chance of getting Cameron into the debates is to say we are going to have the same format as we had last time."

There has been speculation that Cameron will try to avoid the 2010 formula, and possibly kill off the debates altogether, by changing the format. This could include holding debates before the formal election campaign. Some of Cameron's advisers believe the debates in 2010 undermined Tory attempts to present their candidate as the fresh face of British politics because Nick Clegg performed strongly.

Ukip has been declared a major party by Ofcom for the European parliamentary election campaign in light of its number of MEPs and its strong showing in polls. This means the broadcasters have to give Ukip the same treatment as the other major parties.

Farage will press for similar treatment in next year's general election if Ukip wins the European elections. It is understood that Ukip will struggle to win this status on the grounds that it does not have an MP.

Aides to Miliband said an appearance by Farage in the general election television debates would not be a dealbreaker. But Miliband is keen to revive the formula from 2010 to ensure that Cameron cannot duck out of the debates.

An aide said: "We do not want to give David Cameron an excuse to walk off the pitch by accusing us of moving the goalposts. We have never told the broadcasters that Nigel Farage or anyone else would be a dealbreaker. Instead we are saying that the starting point for the negotiations should be what was agreed last time with David Cameron and Nick Clegg. Our key priority is to get debates between Ed Miliband and David Cameron who are both running to be prime minister."

In his appearance at the Guardian, Miliband said the cost-of-living crisis would be the dominant issue at the election, which he said would be won by the party with the most radical ideas. He suggested Labour might be in favour of the renationalisation of some railway lines when he spoke of his support for "innovative solutions".

The Labour leader said: "We are interested in innovative solutions when it comes to the railways. It has got to be affordable. That is absolutely definite. The experience of East Coast, which has been in public hands, has been a good experience.

"The government is dogmatically wanting to privatise East Coast. I don't think you should approach this issue with dogma on either side. So we are interested in innovative solutions."

Asked whether it would make more sense to allow franchises to be taken back into public ownership when they expire, Miliband said: "You're right to say we have got to look at these issues around the franchise. There are different models you can use. You can have a competitive model where there is a public option like there is in East Coast at the moment. So we are looking at different models for this."