Council and Social Housing

We voted to:

End the ‘Right to Buy’ in its Current Form

Points considered in the debate include:

For Ending the ‘Right to Buy’ in its Current Form:
If councils and social housing providers continue to be forced to sell new homes at substantial discounts, then they have no incentive to invest in public housing.
Public housing is owned by all of us because it is paid for through taxes, so it should be a national asset and not an asset of any particular council or social housing provider.
If a publicly owned house is sold, it should be for the market value so that a replacement can be built.

Against Ending the ‘Right to Buy’ in its Current Form:
Rent paid for public or social housing should be seen as a form of mortgage payment so that tenants eventually own all or part of their home.
Ending the right to buy would be a major vote loser.
The very prospect of a future government re-introducing the right to buy is sufficient to deter councils from borrowing to invest in new housing.