William Hague became the latest high-profile Conservative figure to visit east Kent in just days as the party continued to ramp up its campaign for the key seat of South Thanet, where Ukip leader Nigel Farage is standing.

The former foreign secretary and party leader made a whistle-stop tour of Broadstairs today, meeting voters and dropping in on a number of shops alongside candidate Craig Mackinlay.

The visit was not quite as chaotic as the one made by Mayor of London to Ramsgate 24 hours earlier but underlined the Conservatives’ growing optimism that they are the frontrunners in what looks like a very tight three-way contest.

Asked if the party was adopting the so-called “kitchen sink” strategy tried in the unsuccessful Rochester and Strood campaign, Mr Hague said: “Well, this is an important time in the campaign. The first votes [postal] are being cast so we are reminding people about that but this is a place where their votes are valuable.

“This is a seat where they can make a difference - whether there is chaos in the House of Commons in three weeks time or a stable majority keeping up the economic recovery.”

He rejected the suggestion that the Conservatives failure to hit immigration targets would cost the party support in an area which has seen a steady influx of new arrivals over recent years.

“This is a seat where they can make a difference" - William Hague

He said: “In this election, if people vote Ukip, they will end up with Ed Miliband as Prime Minister and we know what Labour did on immigration - they had a completely open door and that was when immigration went out of control. So, this is a choice between a strong Conservative PM and a Labour one.”

“It is true we didn’t meet those targets but it is also true that we have a plan to do something about it and negotiate a better situation for this country in the EU and have a referendum which alllows us to be tougher on immigration. Labour has no such plan and voting Ukip and ending up with Ed Miliband would send us backwards.”

With just weeks to go before May 7, polls suggest that the battle for South Thanet is on a knife edge but there is one thing all agree on - the outcome could be determined by the smallest of margins.

Following his visit to Thanet, Mr Hague headed to Sandwich to continue the campaign trail.