KENT man Nigel Farage is to take over as leader of the UK Independence Party.

Mr Farage, a former commodities broker who lives in west Kent, is already a well-known MEP for the South East region.

He has promised to broaden UKIP’s appeal and to turn the party into a "major force" in both British and European politics.

"We have three major parties in Britain you cannot put a cigarette paper between them in terms of their main policies. There is a huge vacuum and I want UKIP to be seen as a broadly-based, fully-fledged party that provides the real opposition in politics," he said.

UKIP would continue to its opposition to the European Union, which it is committed to leaving, but would continue to develop policies in other areas, he added.

He also pledged to make UKIP better organised when it came to elections.

He stressed: "It has to be much more professional and to plan for elections much earlier.

"My aim as leader is for UKIP to achieve a much greater level of representation at all levels of politics and by the 2009 European elections, to be the biggest party in the EU."

Mr Farage beat Labour into fourth place at the recent Bromley and Chislehurst by-election and stood in the Labour-held Kent seat of Thanet South at the 2005 general election.

Mr Farage was instrumental in securing the financial support of Kent businessman Alan Bown for UKIP, who has donated around £1million to the party.