Lib Dem MP Stephen Lloyd resigns as minister's aide

A Liberal Democrat MP has quit as a ministerial aide over transport funding in his Eastbourne constituency.

Stephen Lloyd has resigned as parliamentary private secretary to the Energy Secretary Ed Davey over "vague promises" for road improvements.

He criticised the government's "utterly lamentable" failure to fund improvements at an accident blackspot.

In a statement he said he felt Eastbourne had been "let down".

A transport investment strategy announced on Monday did not include a proposal to increase capacity to ease traffic at the blackspot on the A27 between Lewes and Polegate in East Sussex.

It did set aside some funds for work dependent on expansion at Gatwick Airport.

Mr Lloyd was elected as MP for Eastbourne and Willingdon in 2010.

He said he could not accept the "vague promise" of extra money in future and would continue to fight for the work to be done.

In a statement, Mr Lloyd said: "After all the work and cross-community effort by so many local residents and businesses, I am profoundly disappointed by the proposal put forward by the Department for Transport.

"There is a vague promise for some time in the future. This isn't jam tomorrow, but more like the possibility of jam some time, if we're lucky, in a few years."

He said the fight for improvements to the A27 "would carry on".

"The Government's proposal to fix the problems of our dreadful road has been utterly lamentable, and the town has been let down," Mr Lloyd said.

He described the section of the south-coast route as "utterly dreadful and unsafe".

The Department of Energy and Climate Change said it would not be commenting on the resignation.