NEW Liberal Democrat party leader Vince Cable visited Kendal to speak to business owners about challenges facing Cumbrian industries.

Joining Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron and Rob Johnston, the chief executive of Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, Mr Cable fielded questions from business owners while praising the ingenuity of local entrepreneurs.

The question and answer session, at Kendal's Factory Tap on Aynam Road, followed a gathering of party members at the Mint Works, and preceded a meeting of key Chamber of Commerce representatives on Thursday night.

The primary concerns for businesspeople in attendance centred around the impact Brexit was having on different businesses and how it was disrupting the political landscape.

Joe Cobb, chair of the Lake District Hotels Association, raised the issue of EU workers potentially leaving the region which he warned could result in a major staff shortage.

Mr Cable said the concern was not being addressed by government because Prime Minister Theresa May was more concerned about reducing immigration figures.

"Her great mission in life is to get the numbers down," he said. "Her view is that immigration trumps the economy and getting immigration down is more important than economic growth in business."

Mr Farron added: "There is unemployment and hardship around here but the amount working-age people in South Lakeland that are economically inactive is very small. The opportunity to replace these EU nationals with local faces is limited in the extreme."

Mr Johnston asked Mr Cable to take Cumbrian businesspeople's concerns to Westminster because of the importance of the issue of migrant workers.

"It is scary for us, and you are listened to," he said.

Richard Moore, of Temple Heelis Solicitors, raised the point of Brexit negotiations causing huge divisions among, and within, different political parties, and asked Mr Cable what he made of the uncertainty.

Mr Cable responded: "It's partly that they didn't realise what they were walking into. You still get some of these zealots saying it's simple to leave the EU when actually, it's unbelievably complicated.

"We spent 30 years creating a common market with regulations – most industries are bound by these common rules and standards – and now they're having to unpick them. The government didn't think about this and set a deadline they couldn't meet."

Other questions put to the party leader revolved around how small businesses could be supported to grow, what issues may affect business in Cumbria, and whether there was any possibility Brexit may not go ahead.

At the conclusion of the session, Mr Cable told The Westmorland Gazette: "Kendal is a delightful place and I'm really impressed by the cultural life, the festivals, the set-up of the volunteering sector and the real variety of the shops.

"There are a lot of things you don't often see in middle-sized towns, and there are a lot of creative industries and a very high quality hospitality sector.

"One of the things that came out in the discussion was the importance of hospitality in the town and the rest of the county and this deep worry about the supply of labour."