By Anushka Asthana, Political Correspondent
UKIP's first MP in Parliament has warned his party must not tolerate racist comments and should instead present itself as inclusive with a "serious internationalist agenda".
Douglas Carswell, who represents the coastal Clacton constituency, said: "There has never been anything splendid about isolation. It was our interdependence that put the Great into Great Britain – and it is what sustains our living standards today.
"In such a world, a dislike of foreigners is not merely offensive but absurd."
His comments, made in an article for the Mail on Sunday, come as an Opinium poll for the Observer newspaper shows UKIP's general popularity is not replicated among young, first time voters.
Only 3% of those aged 17 to 22 say they would vote for the party, while overall polling is closer to 20%.
Three times as many young people say they would vote Green – while Nigel Farage is the least popular political leader among this group.
In his article, Mr Carswell argues against harking back to "Merrie Olde England" because life in pre-industrial Britain was "grim" with high infant mortality rates, hungry children, and the unrelenting slog of 80-hour weeks carrying out manual labour.
The thing that has changed that is that the UK has become more outward looking, he adds. "Far from being a party that tolerates pejorative comments about people's heritage and background, UKIP in 2015 has to show that we have a serious internationalist agenda."
He calls for an immigration system that can say a "cheery… Yes" to doctors from Singapore or scientists from south Asia and a "polite 'No thank you'" to those with criminal records, or tendencies towards welfare dependency.
Senior sources within UKIP point out that the party is in a very different position in 2015 than 2010, with much higher poll ratings, two MPs and the real prospect of winning more seats. As such they think much more care must be taken about what people say, and how they are dealt with.
The source said there was a feeling it was right for Kerry Smith to resign as a candidate over derogatory comments about Chinese and gay people – but that there was too much hesitation when dealing with the case.
They pointed out that where UKIP wins, as opposed to coming second, it does so with a more positive appeal that helps them reach out beyond the core vote.
Mr Carswell won the support of six out of ten adults in the Clacton by-election that followed his defection from the Tories. Despite the national trend with young people, he was even in the lead among 18 to 34-year-olds.
Mr Carswell believes there is an opportunity for his party to tap into the anti-politics sentiment felt by many young people although he acknowledges it could be an uphill battle.
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