General Election 2015: Can Ukip shake off their 'nasty party' image?

Ukip has tried hard in recent months to present a more open outlook, so perhaps it is fitting that its leader didn't turn up to the party's spring conference in Margate until mid-afternoon, jetting back to Blighty after an overseas trip.

Farage had been addressing a conference for American conservatives—reports say aides deftly kept him away from Sarah Palin for fear of a damaging joint photo—where he spoke to a half empty room. He got a more stirring reception at the Kent seaside town's “winter gardens” theatre—the packed audience rose to fill the faded 1920s-style ballroom with thunderous applause as the Monkees' I'm a Believer blared out over the PA.

But by Farage standards this was a relatively subdued affair. Speaking for only about 20 minutes, the general of the People's Army stuck to congratulating his troops rather than firing shots at his opponents (in stark contrast to last autumn's volley at Miliband's voters.) He stayed firmly on home turf—adopting an Australian-style points-based system for assessing immigration applications; escaping the EU to strike off on our own, a commonwealth-focused trade strategy; scrapping foreign aid.

At one point, Farage asked everyone in the audience who would be fighting for Ukip in the upcoming general or local elections to stand. Well over half the room rose, to be told “I salute every single one of you.” This speech felt like it was pitched mostly to them, not to the country at large. “Did you see the opinion poll overnight?” he roared early on, referring to a Survation poll showing him substantially ahead in his South Thanet battle. “Yes!” the audience bellowed, as a boxy day-glo bar chart popped up on the screen behind their leader. It was the nerdiest iteration of Farage's tried and tested call-response technique I've witnessed.

The one really notable moment here was Farage re-stating a position he first took earlier today: a big part of Ukip's role in parliament, he said, would be to hold the government's “feet to the fire” and force them to keep to their target of eliminating the deficit by 2018. It allows Farage to highlight one of the coalition's most high-profile failures—their inability to balance the books by the end of this parliament. But for a party which is trying to grab disaffected Labourites—who may be more spending-happy than Farage himself—it is a risky strategy, and is a significant shift toward the mainstream for a party once written off as “fruitcakes and loonies.”

But perhaps blandness is the best strategy for the purple peril. As Mark Reckless, Ukip's second MP, put it to me earlier today, “our membership understands we need to put our best foot forward in the media. We're not having to court controversy to get attention [anymore].” Conference today was noticeably calmer than previous events I've been to, with no models of “Ken the Euro clown” or swivel-eyed David Cameron mascots to distract attention from the speeches.

Will we soon see the back of the blundering so synonymous with Farage’s army? Will this more professional veneer hold firm throughout the election campaign? This new approach is possibly due to an awareness of the need to dispel the popular perception of them as the "nasty party." But, a lot of work needs to be done between now and 7th May if they are to succeed—a new Comres poll  published today found that more voters than ever see the party as unprofessional and racist.