It is so crazy that even the Daily Telegraph referred to it as “economically illiterate and morally wrong.” [1]

In Hucknall we are building the first council homes for 30 years. At a time when there are around 2,500 households in the town on the council’s waiting list, the Tory solution is not to help to address that but to actively make it worse. And, cheeky beggars, they want the tax payer to pay for the privilege!

The National Housing Federation (the representative body for housing associations) estimates that the extension of the ‘Right to Buy’ (‘cos it’s ‘Wrong to Rent’ – from a council or housing association at least) would cost £5.8bn – some say £20bn. [2]

What we need, need desperately, are more homes that people can afford to rent or buy. Changing tenure of any council or housing association property will solve nothing, rather it will only worsen an already appalling problem. How many homes could be built with the money (that they’ve found on the magic money tree – same place as the £8bn for the NHS)?

Rather than an electoral bribe – who can pretend it is anything else? – we need to provide people with places to live and thrive. And today we learn that the Tories want those lucky enough to live in a council property to be threatened with homelessness, scrapping life-time tenancies. [3]

This will do nothing to deal with the waiting lists but undermine the stability of our local communities. It’s simply insanity. But confirmation that, as far as the Tories are concerned, not being a millionaire is simply a lifestyle choice.

We need – and we will – build more homes that people need desperately. The Tories have overseen a huge increase in the level of homelessness. Only last month it was confirmed that the number of children made homeless had grown by 10,000 in just one year. [4]

These latest announcements show just how little they care about that.

1.  Extending “Right to Buy” Morally Wrong – Telegraph
2.  Why Extending “Right to Buy” is a Bad Idea – Opinion 24 Dash
3.  David Cameron annouces plan to end lifetime council tenancies – The Guardian
4.  Shock, Anger and Dismay at “shameful” rise in homelessness  – 24 Dash