Transport minister Lord Andrew Adonis arrived in Sittingbourne this afternoon for a spot of lunch and a question and answer session with residents.

After tucking into a spread laid on by the local Labour party group at the Labour Hall, in Park Road, Lord Adonis spoke to more than 20 people all keen to find out how Labour will address their concerns if they win the general election on May 6.

Concerns included poor access for the disabled at Sittingbourne train station, free bus travel, the new Hi-speed train and questions over the party's plans to privatise the Dartford crossing.

During his one-hour visit to the Town Centre he also urged people to vote for Labour and encouraged Liberal Democrat supporters to join forces with Labour in a bid to keep the Conservatives out.

He said: "There's a very strong community interest between the two parties. I used to be in the Social Democratic Party. I believe we agree on the key issues - investment in public services and a fair society, a fair system of taxation and political reforms and I still believe in that.

"We're both internationalist parties who have a strong belief in working together with our European partners to get better benefits for Britain.

"We've improved the NHS dramatically. Waiting times have come down the number of employees in the NHS have improved and patient satisfaction has gone up significantly.

"We spend £1billion a year on concessionary fares for the over 60s.

"If the Conservatives got in there would be a big threat to the continuation of concessionary fares for over 60s.

"For the Lib Dems where they don't stand a chance of winning, I urge them to support Labour - not just for tactical reasons but also reasons of principal because we have so much in common."