Another day during the local election campaign and another Labour Party big gun comes to Gravesend.

This time it was the turn of former London Mayor, Ken Livingstone, who is also the Labour candidate for London Mayoral elections next year.

Gravesham council has been earmarked by political pundits as one that could turn red from blue, along with Thanet and Dover.

But Mr Livingstone, who spent several years expelled from the Labour Party after declaring he would stand in the 2000 London Mayoral elections as an independent, said: "I’m sent all over the place and to places where we haven’t got a chance. I think part of where we went wrong in politics was focusing on marginal areas," before adding: "I think it is a council we can win - there shouldn’t be any no-go areas."

The influx of Labour big hitters to Gravesham began two weeks ago with shadow universities minister, Gareth Thomas campaigning in Northfleet, followed by Harriet Harman who came to Gravesend at the weekend.

On Monday it was the turn of Labour leader Ed Miliband, who admitted the party had to rebuild trust and had made mistakes on immigration.

Mr Livingstone added: "I think that is the refreshing thing about Ed, that he is prepared to stand up and say we made mistakes and there aren’t any spin doctors, so you don’t have someone like Alastair Campbell sitting there checking everything."

Asked why he was visiting Gravesend he replied: "The Tory group has done absolutely nothing and I always think of this part of Kent as being part of London."