Nigel Farage used to claim he wanted to move away from the idea Ukip was a one-man band which relied on his own personal profile.

But at the launch of his party's pledge card today, he was photographed in front of no fewer than seven images of himself.

Amid a media scrum, Mr Farage used the event to boast that Ukip is 'quite reflective of what modern Britain is', as he called to leave the EU, control borders, spending £3billion more on the NHS, cut foreign aid spending and scrap income tax for the minimum wage.

Nigel Farage today launched Ukip's election pledge card, surrounded by no fewer than seven photos of himself

Mr Farage used the event in central London to boast that Ukip is 'quite reflective of what modern Britain is'

Ukip hopes to use the election to make a major breakthrough into the Commons, securing enough seats to hold the balance of power in the event of a hung Parliament.

Mr Farage said a strong showing for Ukip at May's election could boost the calls for electoral reform, which in turn could make his eurosceptics a 'big party in British politics'.

We've got all shades of opinion, we've got people from the left, people from the right, people of all ages, all classes, all races Ukip leader Nigel Farage

He said: 'I've always thought there should be election reform but that is frankly irrelevant in the next 38 days.

'Yes, this is very hard for us because you find good Ukip support in Labour constituencies and in Conservative constituencies.

'Yes, that's a challenge but what we have to do is to get over the line in enough seats in this General Election campaign and then you'll see how many seats we've actually come second in, and you'll realise as part of a longer-term strategy this really could become a big party in British politics.'

Mr Farage was mobbed by photographers, camera people and journalists as he arrived in Smith Square in central London to unveil the poster truck.

He was hidden by the media scrum for the duration of the press conference and had to fight his way into his car as he left.

Mr Farage was mobbed by photographers, camera people and journalists as he arrived in Smith Square in central London to unveil the poster truck

Earlier Mr Farage played down a run of opinion polls which suggest his support is on the wane, insisting his party is 'more in tune' with the British public.

Although the posters include a pledge to control the UK's borders, the word immigration does not feature.

The leader was joined by Ukip MP Mark Reckless and other senior Ukip figures, each other them holding an over-sized pledge card in front of the billboard.

But Clacton MP Douglas Carswell, who defected from the Tories last year, did not attend the event as he was campaigning in his constituency.

Last year Mr Farage warned that people would not vote for Ukip unless he broadened its appeal beyond his own profile. 'I don't think people will vote for us in a general election in big numbers if they think it's a one-man band. I intend to change that over the summer,' he said in May 2014.

But Mr Farage today brushed aside questions about the use of his photograph on the card. He said: 'The thing about Ukip is we have become the most eclectic, diverse political party.

'We've got all shades of opinion, we've got people from the left, people from the right, people of all ages, all classes, all races.

'We are quite reflective I think now as a party of what modern Britain is.'

Mr Farage insisted that smaller parties will have major influence in an election which no party will win outright

Responding to Ukip's pledge card, a Liberal Democrat spokesman said: 'Ukip's pledge card should instead be a P45 for each of three million people whose jobs benefit from our membership of the EU.'

The latest ComRes poll for the Daily Mail puts Ukip on 12 per cent, well down on last year's peak of 19 per cent.

Speaking this morning Mr Farage insisted that smaller parties will have major influence in an election which no party will win outright.

He vowed to use any influence he can to ensure a referendum on leaving the EU happens this year.

The Ukip leader - who will later kick off his party's campaign by announcing its key policies - told ITV1's Good Morning Britain: 'I'm up for it.

'We have got massive public support for our views on proper immigration controls and the need for an Australian-style points system. As we have shown before, we have come from behind in many elections to win in the past.

'We are going to win a good number of seats in Westminster, but with the best will in the world, I am not going to be Prime Minister.'

He added: 'I'm a straight-talking person, I'm honest - Ukip are not going to win the general election. But you know what? No-one is going to win the general election. There will be nobody with a clear majority.

'The question is what parties will have enough power to coalesce around the other parties?'

He said David Cameron had never wanted to hold a referendum on Britain's EU membership, and had been 'forced into' his vow to stage a poll by the end of 2017.

'Our job in the next Parliament would be to hold his feet to the fire, to make sure that the referendum is not a stitch-up,' he said.

'I don't want this to be kicked into the long grass until the end of 2017. I think it should be before the end of this year.'

Mr Farage acknowledged that Ukip had lost ground in the polls over the last few months, but insisted it remained 'more in tune' with the British public on key issues than the mainstream Westminster parties.

'We have dipped a little bit over the last two months, but not markedly,' he said. 'What we have just passed through is the phoney war. The real battle starts today.'

Mr Farage acknowledged that Ukip had been 'hurt' by bad publicity including a councillor who made racist comments

Mr Farage acknowledged that Ukip had been 'hurt' by publicity over supporters such as Thanet councillor Rozanne Duncan, who was expelled from the party after saying she had 'a problem with people with negroid features'.

But he insisted: 'We are through all of that. What we have now got to talk about is an election campaign in which the biggest issue in voters' minds is the impact of immigration on public services and on people's incomes ... I think Ukip, over the next 38 days, is going to connect with people.'

He said he stood by his position that discrimination laws should be relaxed, so employers can favour British workers over those from other EU nations.