May 5

Sell out

Forty years after Mrs Thatcher offered council house tenants an offer they could not refuse the government is thinking of repeating the move..

Not believing their good fortune, by 1995 2.1 million had bought their home at a knock-down price - a 60 % reduction - and Britain has been struggling ever since to provide enough affordable homes.

Almost 70% of people in the UK own property, far fewer than most European countries. In Germany it is only 20%.

Useful if you are among those fortunate ones, with some properties, including London, worth more than £1 million. but increasingly difficult for the younger generation, coping with crippling costs and having to resort to renting.

And what  the did the he government do with that £28billion windfall? It disappeared in the treasury coffers and did not produce a  single new house. 

I am fortunate in owning an excellent Wales and the West Housing Association flat.

Founded in 1965 it now owns 12,000 properties, mostly for rent. It is one of the biggest providers of affordable homes houses and flats, building hundreds a year.

This could be in danger if the government goes ahead with its ill-advised plan that would exacerbate the dire housing situation, denying young people a chance of a home of their own.