Nigel
Farage has said the Conservatives and Labour both "fear" a UKIP breakthrough at
May's general election giving it the balance of power.
In
his first major speech of 2015, Mr Farage said he believed no party would secure
a majority after May's poll.
But
UKIP would not "prop up" a government led by another party unless it offers an
"immediate" EU referendum.
The
UKIP leader also claimed his party was now the only "truly national political
party" in the UK.
He
dismissed the Conservatives as a "regional party for the South of England" and
Labour as a similar party for the North. saying UKIP, by contrast, was "the
challenger in virtually every parliamentary seat from Birmingham up to Hadrian's
Wall".
He
said UKIP was also "beginning now to dig quite deep into some of the ethnic
community vote".
'Little
man'
Speaking
at a cinema in Canvey Island, Essex, he said UKIP would not engage in "dirty
politics" as its opponents "turned nasty" during the election
campaign.
Analysis,
by political correspondent Robin Brant
This
was a soft campaign launch but it was an important speech from Nigel
Farage.
It
was heavy on the rhetoric and made no attempt to hide the fact that UKIP is a
party tugging at the heart strings, perhaps learning a lesson about the power of
emotion from the (ultimately unsuccessful) Yes campaign in
Scotland.
The
word "believe" was uttered dozens of times in Mr Farage's short speech; believe
in Britain, believe in change.
But
it was light on weighty policy. Everything mentioned from the podium, in a
cinema by the Thames Estuary, has already been announced and it was mostly low
level "retail" policies, such as ending car park charges in NHS
hospitals.
Nigel
Farage repeated two key things: UKIP won't go into a coalition with any party
after 7 May's general election, if it gains more MPs, and their big negotiating
demand - their only one - is an "immediate" EU referendum.
But
Suzanne Evans, who is writing the party's manifesto, refused to answer my
question about their deficit reduction plan. And on the NHS - an increasingly
significant issue for UKIP - Mr Farage wouldn't say if he believed the current
way of funding the health service was sustainable.. All he would say was there
can't be any cuts.
David
Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg are also staging campaign events on
Thursday, the final day before Parliament breaks up for a 10-day
recess.
Mr
Farage, who is hoping to be elected to Westminster as MP for South Thanet, went
on to suggest that the two largest parties were failing to "cut through" to the
public.
"Out
there, beyond Westminster, the small businessmen, the backbone of the country,
have become victims of a modern form of corporatism.
"We
are the only party standing up for the little man."
Writing
in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Farage suggests that campaigning this
year has been "incredibly dull so far", with Labour's focus on the NHS and the
Conservatives' prioritisation of the economy "pretty
predictable".
Health
service
The
UKIP leader has said his party's main policies, including leaving the EU, taking
all those on the minimum wage out of tax, ditching HS2 and scrapping tuition
fees for science, maths, medicine and engineering degrees, have a wide appeal
across the country.
Addressing
UKIP's policy on the NHS, Mr Farage says it would inject £3bn into the health
service but would change the way the institution operated, prioritising research
and innovation over middle management "to make it work for those who need
it".
His
remarks come amid continuing debate in the party over how to meet the rising
demand for healthcare at a time of continuing strain on the public
finances.
Labour
accused UKIP of following a Conservative agenda on the NHS and the
economy.
Shadow
Health Minister Jon Trickett said: "No single speech is going to hide UKIP and
Nigel Farage's long-held beliefs on increasing NHS privatisation and further tax
breaks for those at the top.
"The
truth is UKIP are a party of Tory people, Tory policies and Tory money: they are
more Tory than the Tories." BBC
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