PRESS RELEASE

24 January 2003

OTTAWAY: Labour/Liberals kick tenants off the housing ladder
Conservatives criticise plans to block residents from buying their council house

Richard Ottaway, Conservative MP for Croydon South, has attacked Labour plans, supported by the Liberal Democrats, to restrict the Right to Buy on council housing. By contrast, Croydon Conservatives pledged to make home ownership more accessible to those on low incomes, protecting the Right to Buy on Croydon's 14,990 council houses, and extending the scope of the Right to Buy across Croydon's 8,536 housing association dwellings.

John Prescott announced plans on 22 January to halve Right to Buy discounts in 42 local authority areas, and warned that further restrictions were being considered across the country. Liberal Democrats have also advocated slashing the discounts which make home ownership affordable.

Richard Ottaway explained:-

"Labour and Liberal Democrats oppose needy people getting their foot on the housing ladder. The Right to Buy scheme is a popular Conservative initiative that has helped nearly two million tenants of council properties to enjoy the benefits of home ownership. But clamping down on the Right to Buy will do nothing to improve the supply of housing. Tenants will stay put and communities will not benefit from the money that the sales generate.

"I pledge that Croydon Conservatives will fight these plans to hinder the Right to Buy for council tenants. Moreover, we want to extend rights to housing association residents, where such associations have previously benefited from taxpayer funding. Once those residents buy their own homes, we will invest the proceeds of the property sales to build or acquire new affordable housing - across the country, this alone could deliver an extra 15,000 affordable houses every single year.

"We are already consulting with major housing associations, interest groups and experts to ensure we can deliver the best deal in both rural and urban areas. Conservatives believe everyone should have a place they can call home."

Ends

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