The Right to Buy scheme and why Boris Johnson is facing backlash
03.05.2022 - 16:15
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
Boris Johnson has been slammed after a "desperate" attempt to revive Margaret Thatcher's Right to Buy (RTB) policy, days before the UK council elections.
A new RTB scheme would aid tenants who rent from private housing associations.
Johnson told officials to draw up the plans in the last fortnight to help young people struggling to get on to the property ladder, the Telegraph reported.
But what exactly is the Right to Buy scheme, when was it first introduced, and why is Boris facing backlash?
The Right to Buy scheme (RTB) was first brought in under the Housing Act 1980 in one of many reforms pioneered by Margaret Thatcher.
Under RTB, those who rented from private housing associations could purchase their social homes at a discounted price.
Boris is not the first prime minister to suggest this, as RTB was first revived 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.
Critics have accused the PM of "talking up the policies of the past" to shift attention away from the growing Parliamentary sleaze row, following the resignation of Tory MP Neil Parish for watching porn in the Commons.
Voters head to the polls on Thursday, May 5 to elect 200 councils across Britain, in the PM's first electoral test since the Partygate scandal erupted.
The Right to Buy plan also comes as Mr Johnson's pledge to build 300,000 homes a year was under threat due to a ruling by the Government's environment watchdog.
Officials in the Levelling up department are reportedly “urgently investigating” how to fight the ban on housebuilding imposed by Natural England last month, which now affects 42 local authority areas.
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