It is impossible to reconcile the Conservative’s claim that we need further cuts in public expenditure with their commitment of ever increasing sums of money in their attempts to woo the voters.
The latest example is the Right to Buy.
The extension of the Right to Buy to Housing Association properties would see some people being able to buy their own home with help from the taxpayer. but these are people already living in good secure homes on some of the country’s cheapest rents.
Meanwhile the policy won’t help the millions of people in private rented homes who are desperate to buy but have no hope of doing so, nor the three million adult children living with their parents because they can’t afford to rent or buy.
Housing associations are private social enterprises that exist for the benefit of the community. They already build homes for sale, private and social rent and shared ownership. As well as depriving future generations of decent affordable housing, the Conservative Party are planning to raise £17.5 billion from the sale of high value properties to fund the discount – a huge sum in times of austerity that could grow into tens of billions as more tenants become eligible. This £17.5 billion is enough to finance nearly one million new shared ownership homes open to everyone, not just the lucky few already well housed in secure social homes.