Labour attack right to buy as "fire-sale of community assets"

Yesterday the Prime Minister was in Wandsworth talking to council tenants who will have the chance to get on the housing ladder due to the restoration of proper discounts for the right to buy scheme.

What do Labour think of reviving right to buy? The Shadow Housing Minister Jack Dromey hasn't given a straight answer. Of course the fact it was the Labour Government that sabotaged right to buy by capping the discounts will not have gone unnoticed by those thousands of families whose dream of home ownership has been thwarted as a result.

But at least we have some clarity as to what Labour in local government think of the new offer. Cllr Tony Newman, is the Leader of the Labour opposition on Croydon Council. He is also the lead housing spokesman for the Local Government Association's Labour Group.

He says:

"These are now to be sold off under the feet of councils.

“This is a cynical move by the government which is in effect forcing a fire-sale of community assets”.

So if he representative of Labour councillors then don't expect Labour-run councils to be making their tenants aware of the tremendous opportunity the new policy represents.