Nigel Farage "insulted" the audience of the final televised showdown saying they had failed to understand the issues and were too left wing.

During heated debate over the shortage of affordable housing in the UK, the UKIP leader said that "even by the standards of the BBC", the audience was too far Left.

He said: "There is a total lack of comprehension amongst this panel and the audience, which is a remarkable audience even by the left-wing standards of the BBC."

The UKIP leader was jeered as he was told by Ed Miliband that it was not a good idea to "insult the audience", who had been selected by an independent polling firm.

Mr Farage responded: "The real audience is sitting at home."

He went on to blame the housing problem on immigration and said: "I just wonder, I'm curious can I get any recognition from any of you that the demand side of this equation is that a rapidly rising population due to open-door immigration, started by Ed Miliband's Labour parties in the 1990s, has directly contributed towards the housing crisis."

The leaders of the smaller parties had been setting out their credentials for coalition in the final televised debate ahead of the election.

With a majority looking unlikely all the small parties could play a crucial part in delivering either David Cameron or Ed Miliband to Number 10.