Labour and Lib Dems slam Right to Buy deal

John Healey, Labour’s shadow housing minister, has said the government is negotiating housing associations to make the Right to Buy voluntary because ministers “can’t deliver it themselves”.

Following the announcement yesterday that associations will vote on whether to take on the scheme voluntarily, Mr Healey said: “This is a clear sign of a government running into trouble with their flagship election policy.

“It looks like ministers are trying to strike a backroom deal with housing association landlords to deliver a policy which they fear they can’t deliver themselves.”

He added the policy was being “rushed” ahead of the Conservative Party conference and that it should have been announced by parliament.

Tom Copley, housing spokesperson for the London Labour group, has also written to London housing associations calling on them to reject the deal.

He said the government had “chosen to bypass parliamentary scrutiny”.

Mr Copley said: “I would urge housing associations not to allow the government to manoeuvre them into gifting the government what they want without any danger of rejection of the Housing Bill in parliament or reclassification of housing association debt.

“The scheme will still be funded by forcing councils to sell their most expensive properties and will fatally undermine the ability of councils to deliver much-needed new social housing.”

Tim Farron, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said the deal showed Conservative housing policy was in “total disarray”.

“Forcing Right to Buy on housing associations was a stupid policy before the election, it remains a stupid policy now, and it looks like at least now the Tories seem to agree,” he added.

“If the Tories are serious about tackling a national emergency like housing, they should take immediate action to allow councils to borrow funds to build the homes we desperately need.”

A Liberal Democrat spokesperson indicated it was “up to them” whether housing associations took the deal or not.