While the Conservatives are extending the right to buy in England the Labour Party are taking Wales in the opposite direction.
Labour are abolishing the right to buy in Wales – and halving the discount to £8,000 until the legislation to scrap the right to buy takes effect.
Welsh Conservative Shadow Housing Minister, Mark Isherwood AM, said:
“Typical Labour: this move flies in the face of aspiration and ambition. It will limit supply and deny people in council properties the choice and power to buy their home.
“While Labour ministers push ahead with this senseless move, Welsh Conservatives are committed to extending the right to buy.
“We would invest all the sales proceeds in new social and affordable housing to help tackle Labour’s housing supply crisis and take households off their record-breaking waiting lists.
“Labour’s leader in Wales has already slammed his party for being anti-business. Scrapping the right to buy is further proof that it’s anti-aspiration; stuck in an ’80s socialist dogma where it believes the government knows best – not the individual.
“We must use every tool in the armoury to increase housing supply in order to make housing more affordable.”
This offers an interesting test to the Labour Party of relevance not only in Wales. The Labour leadership contenders have talked a lot about aspiration. If they were brave enough to condemn this decision by the Welsh Government then that talk might mean something.