ALL tickets to see UKIP leader Nigel Farage in Derby have been snapped up.
Nine-hundred people will attend the May 1 event at the Riverside Centre, Pride Park, where Mr Farage will give a speech before answering questions from the audience.
UKIP East Midlands chairman Alan Graves said: "I'm delighted that so many people are interested in what Nigel has to say."
He said Derby was the first place in the country to give away all its free tickets "and this shows there is real interest in the party in the city".
Mr Farage's tour coincides with the build-up to the European Elections, held on May 22. His party is expected to win a large number of seats.
UKIP wants to see the UK leave the European Union and believes that Brussels has too much power over the country's affairs.
When questioned as to why there was so much interest in the event in Derby, Mr Graves said: "UKIP appeals to lots of different voters. People who are traditionally Conservative voters, Labour voters and even non-voters are supporting us.
"We're saying what people think. The traditional parties have always had their own agendas when it comes to Europe.
"We are the party that listens to people."
Labour North MP Chris Williamson disagreed with his comments.
He said: "If Alan believes that UKIP speaks to Labour voters, quite frankly he is living in cloud cuckoo land.
"I do not take any votes for granted but what Alan's saying has not been my experience on the doorstep.
"When Labour voters look into the policies that UKIP has, they will be turned off by them.
"They are the antithesis of a socially-just society."
Conservative MP Jessica Lee also felt that UKIP would not take votes from her party but said she was waiting with interest to see what Mr Farage had to say when he came to the city.
The Erewash MP, who is not defending her seat at the next general election, said: "The Conservative Party is the only major party to have a firm stance on Europe.
"If we win at the next election, we will be offering a referendum on membership of the EU.
"I would like to remind voters of that but also say that a vote for UKIP is a vote for Labour."
The party with the most to lose from a UKIP upswing in the polls is the Liberal Democrats.
Bill Newton-Dunn is an MEP for the Liberal Democrats in the East Midlands region.
He said: "The reality is that, if we pull out of Europe, companies like Toyota have said they will pull out of Britain.
"We are the only party to stand up and say that we need to be part of Europe if we do not want to become a museum nation.
"I think we may lose votes because of being the smaller party in a coalition. That has happened in other countries."
