An MP has said immigration restrictions will be a hammer blow to building affordable homes.

Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron has warned the Government that their new immigration proposals would leave a gaping hole in the construction workforce needed to build affordable homes in the Lakes.

This week the Prime Minister is set to give the go ahead to plans which would prevent migrants from working in the UK long-term unless they earn at least £25,600 a year.

Mr Farron said: “In the South Lakes, we have 3,000 local families waiting for a council house.

“And yet the Government’s own Migration Advisory Committee says the Government’s plan for visas and migrant pay will see an eight per cent reduction in the construction workforce.

“We need to see the Government start to live in the real world."

The Government is currently finalising its consultation on its new post-Brexit immigration policy for EU workers.

The Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendations for a wage threshold has already caused serious concerns for the county’s tourism industry.

Business leaders have called for the Government to rethink the threshold as the sector – worth £3 billion a year to Cumbria’s economy – faces an ongoing recruitment crisis.

Around a third of the county’s 65,000-strong tourism and hospitality workforce comes from overseas.

Restriction that could force some EU workers to move away have raised the alarm given the relatively low unemployment rates in parts of the county where tourism is the main industry.