Labour’s Right to Buy plans “the biggest blow to council housing in a generation” 

The Labour Government’s plans to reform Right to Buy without implementing it immediately has prompted over 1000 right to buy applications in Bristol, which could result in the biggest loss of council housing in a generation, according to a council chief.  

Cllr Barry Parsons, Chair of the Homes and Housing Delivery Committee, said, ‘Championed by successive Tory and Labour governments, Right to Buy has been a disaster. It has cost UK taxpayers £200 billion, driven the housing crisis to breaking point and is the single biggest reason council housing has reduced so significantly.  

‘Everyone has the right to a safe and affordable home. But Bristol has lost 22,000 council homes to Right to Buy since the 70s, bought at well below replacement cost. As only 4% of homes bought under Right to Buy have ever been replaced, this is a mammoth loss to Bristol.   

‘And in the three weeks after the Government announced changes to Right to Buy in the autumn, Bristol City Council had over 1000 Right to Buy applications, which is about as many as we’d received in total over the last four years. We had less than 200 in the previous six months. If these go through, this will result in the biggest single blow to our council housing stock in a generation.    

‘This government needs to end Right to Buy, right now.  

‘Everyone knows that councils across the country are facing a financial crisis. As a council, we are having to spend millions on making our council homes safe and warm after years of neglect and financial mismanagement under Bristol Labour. 

‘Nearly 600 more council homes are in development in Bristol and we have over 1800 affordable homes being built through successful partnerships with registered providers. 

‘But with over 22,000 families bidding for social homes – coincidentally the same number of homes Bristol has lost to Right to Buy since the 70s – we need more help.  

‘If the Government were serious about ending the housing crisis, they would put an end to local government austerity, end Right to Buy and invest heavily in a new generation of council homes.’ 

Cllr Denyer, MP for Bristol Central, said; “Right to Buy has been scamming the British public for decades – selling off our vital social housing stock and fuelling the housing crisis, with taxpayers paying the price. Many ex-council homes are now owned by landlords who make money by renting them privately to tenants on housing benefit – costing taxpayers £20bn a year. 

“We can’t end the housing crisis without ending Right to Buy. But by dragging its feet, this government has dealt a massive financial blow to councils like Bristol which is now facing the biggest loss of council homes in a generation.  

“Once again, councils are paying the price for government’s failure to get a grip on the struggles facing ordinary people. Government must properly fund local authorities so they can give everyone a secure, affordable roof over their heads – and end Right to Buy immediately, for good.”