UKIP leader Nigel Farage is expected to get a celebrity reception in Washington when he addresses America's most high-profile right-wing conference this week.

Sarah Palin, Rand Paul, Jeb Bush and the National Rifle Association (NRA) gun lobby will be sharing a stage with the British politician after he was invited to address the Conservative Political Action Committee in the US capital.

Aides told Sky News his philosophy has much in common with his republican hosts, who also focus on "the battle for smaller government and lower taxes and how an insurgent party can become bigger".

That will go down a storm with much of his audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which appeals to the right wing of the Republican party.

Tea party activists claim to have been fighting the same battle in the US.

Aides say he has also been asked to share his expertise in international relations, in particular his thoughts on Ukraine, the Greek economic crisis and the possibility of Greece exiting the eurozone.

The UKIP leader has reportedly built a loyal following in the US as a regular guest on the right-of-centre cable channel Fox News. He can expect a warm welcome.

In hyperbolic publicity released by CPAC ahead of his speech on Thursday evening, he was described as a "political tour de force" who has "emerged as a serious and viable candidate who can run England in the near future".

The annual event offers a platform for mainstream politicians, this year including presidential hopeful Jeb Bush, and the more extreme fringe of America's fractious conservative movement.

Mr Farage's appearance is wedged between a speech from failed vice-presidential contender Sarah Palin and what's been billed as a "Good Guys' Reception", hosted by the all-powerful NRA.

On the way to the US, he said he hoped to find common ground with his hosts.

"In Britain, we are fighting against the creation of a client-state, against rampant corporatism, against a career political class that services vested interests," he said.

He will find plenty of the above in both of America's massively funded political parties, but CPAC aims to be more grassroots.

The rise of the Islamic State is likely to be on the agenda at the conference, and Mr Farage spoke against any military intervention during an interview with Fox News - something that might put him at odds with some of his fellow speakers.

"We can provide expertise, we can provide help, but it's not British and American boots that are going to beat this," he said.

"We’ve got to work with all those Arab and African states together."

Mr Farage cited Libya as a recent example in which he said military intervention made things worse.

"We've now made Libya a country in which it's impossible to live as a Christian. Let's think carefully before we get involved in complicated military and social issues.

"This ISIS threat across the whole region - it is a real, genuine evil, it won't be beaten by conventional warfare in a short space of time."

The floors of the conference offer an eclectic mix. Tea Party supporters in eighteenth century costume stride its halls.

Libertarians offer questionnaires testing delegates' political purity. Anti-abortion groups hand round plastic foetuses and there are activists opposed to greater gay rights.

Mr Farage's speech is followed by hors d'oeuvres, wine and beer.

He may have to forego indulging his weakness for the latter if he wants to catch his plane in time to fly home for his party's annual conference in Margate on Friday.