A think-tank has warned a lack of cash for affordable housing will make political parties' ambitious housebuilding targets difficult to achieve.

Labour has pledged to deliver 1.5m homes in England by 2029 and the Conservatives have committed to 1.6m in the same period.

But the Resolution Foundation said the lack of additional funding for affordable housing would make it ‘extremely challenging' for either of the main parties to get ‘remotely close' to their targets.

The think-tank warned of pitfalls if affordable housing delivery was left to private developers, arguing that they were often accused of negotiating down their obligations.

Senior Resolution Foundation economist Cara Pacitti said: ‘Whoever wins the next election will struggle to hit these stretching targets without significantly more funding in place to boost affordable housebuilding and to support low-income families with rising rents.

‘Britain's new housing consensus desperately needs new cash for it to deliver.'