Ukip have had their time, according to former Conservative politician Ann Widdecombe.

She predicted that the Tories will get a majority in the general election next week with Ukip only getting one seat.

Speaking at Sun Pier House, Chatham, on Tuesday, she said: “Ukip has done what it set out to do, it has got a major party to promise a referendum. The sensible thing to do is throw itself behind that party.

“My advice is, by voting Ukip you risk getting a Labour government and if you want a referendum, there is only one party with a chance of getting one.

“I think the Conservatives are going to win, don’t look to the opinion polls, look to the bookies. They have rarely got it wrong, they can’t afford to get it wrong.”

"Don’t look to the opinion polls, look to the bookies. They can’t afford to get it wrong.” - Ann Widdecombe.

The 67-year-old, who was first elected as Maidstone MP in 1987 and stood down in 2010, was in Medway supporting the party’s parliamentary candidate for Chatham and Aylesford Tracey Crouch, who is defending a 6,069 majority against her main Labour challenger Tristan Osborne.

The pair were up early to speak to commuters at Chatham train station before heading to Princes Park in the evening to speak to residents.

She said the feedback on the doorsteps had been positive: “People have been concerned about the economy and do not want to take the risk of having a Labour government, they don’t want to go through it again.”

She believes the Tories will get a majority, not necessarily a big one, but enough to give David Cameron a mandate.

Miss Widdecombe, who has appeared on Strictly Come Dancing and panto since leaving the Commons, said she was happy to be back on the campaign trail: “It’s always good to be out campaigning, but if you’re asking me if I miss Westminster, I do not miss Westminster, but I miss Maidstone.”

She said the decision to hold the leaders’ debates was a change for the worst, remarking: “This is not a presidential election, it’s the election of a government.”

She also visited Rochester and Strood and Maidstone on Monday, and Tonbridge and Malling on Wednesday.