Kellie Maloney gets standing ovation at Ukip Margate conference

Kellie Maloney, once known as tough-talking boxing promoter Frank Maloney, was given a standing ovation by UK Independence Party (Ukip) supporters in Margate at the party's conference.

Best known in Ireland for managing Irish boxer Darren Sutherland until his suicide in 2009, Ms Maloney is a long-time member of the party, who announced that he was to undergo a sex-change operation last year.

In 2004, Ms Maloney, then a candidate for the London mayoralty against Labour's Ken Livingstone, said she would not campaign in Camden in North London where there were "too many gays".

Speaking in the Kent seaside town, Ms Maloney, who broke down in tears at one point, said: “I have learned to say sorry and to apologise if I am wrong. I made a terrible mistake.

“I had to come to terms with myself and accept that I was a transsexual. It is something I hid and something I fought,” said Ms Maloney, who announced her decision to change sex last year. She was given a place at the platform at the Margate party conference to counter charges that some in the party are frequently homophobic in their public utterances.

“This party is open to everyone. Our only pride, our only prejudice is that we are patriotic,” Ms Maloney said, to sustained applause from party members.

Transgender issues

Party leader

Nigel Farage

said Ms Maloney’s presence showed that Ukip is open to all, adding that she had explained “transgender issues to an audience who perhaps didn’t know much about it”.

Pointing to the existence of a 600-strong LGBT group within the party, Mr Farage rejected “repeated attempts by the media and everyone else to make Ukip out to be homophobic”.

The Margate gathering was marked by frequent defences of the National Health Service – an issue where Ukip has been vulnerable because of past support for an insurance-based system.

Despite declarations from the major parties that the Ukip tide has peaked, the party itself is convinced that it will win perhaps a dozen seats in May’s general election.

Mr Farage, who has been spending much of the last two months campaigning in his Thanet North constituency, is now favourite with the bookmakers to win there.

Ukip insists it has a significant chance also of winning in Dover and Deal, which, so far, have not been included in the target shortlist.

At the conference’s close, Mr Farage said: “We will once again surprise everybody; we will put enough MPs in to Westminster to make a difference and be in a position of power.

“I know that we are in for a rough, tough 67 days, but the prize is very, very great. I am determined to lead us to a big success on May 7th.”

The party’s first elected MP made the case for an alliance across the political spectrum – including with the Liberal Democrats – to bring about fundamental reforms of the voting system.

Former Tory MP Douglas Carswell, who resigned his seat and won it back standing under the Ukip flag, made clear that voting reform will be a key demand.

The existing first-past-the-post, single-seat constituency militates against smaller parties such as Ukip, who may get a strong national vote, but few seats.

Proposing the creation of multimember seats, Mr Carswell said Ukip could build alliances with others across the political system – even if they would not agree on much else.

“Ukip needs to be not too prescriptive, we need to build a progressive coalition who want real reform, and that is going to mean reaching out to people,” he said.