General election: Ukip aims to revive flagging campaign

Nigel Farage will on Wednesday try to inject some momentum into the UK Independence party's flagging election campaign with spending pledges on health and defence.

Unveiling his party's manifesto in Thurrock, one of Ukip's top target seats, Mr Farage will describe the impending election as the first one in a century that could bring about "real change".

"For the first time in 100 years, there is real change on the horizon, all you have to do is vote for it," he will say.

Flagship policies include a commitment to increasing defence spending to 2 per cent of gross domestic product, as recommended by Nato, £12bn extra funding for the NHS and £5.2bn for social care.

"You will find serious, fully costed policies that reflect what Ukip is all about: believing in our country," Mr Farage will say.

Senior Ukip figures insisted on Tuesday that the party would spell out exactly how it will pay for the spending pledges in the manifesto, as the Tories attacked what it described as a £37bn black hole in Ukip's plans.

Conservative figures said Ukip had made at least 15 spending promises from the savings it would get from cutting international aid and another 12 spending promises from the saving garnered from exiting the EU.

But the Tories too are coming under fire for unfunded spending commitments after pledging over the weekend to provide an extra £8bn a year for the health service by 2020 without outlining how it would pay for the spending pledge.

In an attempt to produce a realistic manifesto, Ukip has dropped its commitment to an immigration cap and instead opted for a broad target of 30,000-50,000.

"A cap just seemed too artificial," said one senior party figure.

It has also rowed back on removing stamp duty on all new homes built on brownfield sites after concluding that the policy was too expensive. Instead, Mr Farage will remove stamp duty on the first £250,000 of a new purchase.

As well as pledging to meeting the defence spending target recommended by Nato Ukip will also commit to building a dedicated military hospital for veterans as it looks to outflank the Tories on defence.

David Cameron's refusal to commit to the Nato target, while restating a promise to spend 0.7 per cent of GDP on overseas aid, will frustrate some on the Tory right.

The Ukip launch comes as the party's vote appears to be softening after peaking in the autumn following election victories in two parliamentary by-elections and the European Parliament election.

A "poll of polls" in The Sun newspaper, suggested that Ukip has lost a quarter of its support in four months - falling to 12.2 per cent.

Research revealed by Lord Ashcroft this month found that Ukip's share of the vote in nine out of 10 Tory marginal seats polled had fallen by up to 10 points, boosting support for the Conservatives.

Mr Farage also faces a tough fight in South Thanet, the Kent seat he hopes to win in the election. A private opinion poll by ComRes suggested that the Ukip leader had fallen behind his Conservative rival.

Mr Farage has said he will quit as Ukip leader if he does not win the seat.

The party's manifesto pledges on spending on the NHS and social care are aimed at shoring up support from traditional Labour voters.

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