Boris Johnson considers giving housing association tenants the right to buy
Tenants would have the right to buy homes they rent from housing associations under plans thought to be under consideration by Boris Johnson.
The prime minister told officials to draw up the plans in the last fortnight to help young people struggling to get on to the property ladder in England, according to the Telegraph.
The proposal for renters to be able to purchase their social homes at a discounted price is not new, having appeared in David Cameron’s 2015 Conservative manifesto.
Though that plan failed to materialise, Mr Johnson committed to consider new pilots for the scheme ahead of the 2019 general election.
His bid to revive the plans were pitched as being inspired by Margaret Thatcher giving council tenants the right to buy in 1980.
The plans would not come without controversy, however, as the country still deals with a severe shortage of social housing - with more than a million families on waiting lists in England.
ITV News Political Correspondent Dan Hewitt has reported on the squalid conditions facing many families currently in social housing.
Among his findings have been some of the worst living conditions ever seen by officials, as described by the former chair of the UK Health and Safety Executive.
Last year, fewer than 6,000 social homes were built in England even though experts say 90,000 are needed per year.
"The current need for social housing is so desperate that any policy that sells more of them without immediately replacing them could be catastrophic," Dan Hewitt said.
It all comes as the Tory campaign for Thursday’s local elections was hit by a fresh scandal on top of partygate.
Conservative Neil Parish said he would resign as the MP for Tiverton and Honiton after admitting twice watching pornography in the Commons.
On Sunday, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng insisted Mr Johnson would “absolutely” remain leader no matter how badly the Tories fared in the council elections.
Pressure was also on Sir Keir Starmer to lead Labour to significant gains when polls in 200 local authorities across Britain open on Thursday.
Details of the latest proposals were thin, with questions remaining about how housing associations would be compensated and how their stock would be replenished.