Lib Dems against social housing RTB

Tim Farron the recently elected leader of the Liberal Democrats made it clear in his speech at their conference this week, that his party were against the government plans for  right to buy for tenants of housing association homes.

He made it clear he would not allow the government to ‘destroy’ social housing by extending Margaret Thatcher’s flagship Right to Buy policy to include Housing Associations, the party would use their power in the House of Lords to block such plans.

In his first speech as leader at the  conference Farron set out plans to solve the housing crisis in England by building 300,000 new homes a year.

He said “Housing is the biggest single issue that politicians don’t talk about,”

“Well, we are going to talk about it, campaign on it, go on and on and on about it, and make a difference to the millions who have been ignored.

“Communities up and down this country have spent 25 years building housing association homes, picking up the pieces of Mrs Thatcher’s destruction of council housing, and we will not allow David Cameron to destroy that work too.”

He highlighted other policies that the Lib Dems would include to tackle the housing problem: Lifting the borrowing cap on local authorities, which the party claims could result in an extra 80,000 homes over five years, a ban on advertising UK properties to overseas investors first, a government-backed housing investment bank to provide capital for new homes and 10 new garden cities in England, including five major new settlements along a garden cities railway between Oxford and Cambridge.

 

Allen Walkey

Highly experienced businessman with a successful career in property sales and investment both in the UK and abroad. Now a freelance writer and blogger for the property and Investment Industry, keeping readers up-to-date with changes and events in a rapidly changing world.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Breaking Property News 5/10/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X. Architect-founded KnowYourNest brings property scores into the home search, with a free 1–10 score and full KnowYourNest reports from £9.95 By Author Andrew Stanton CEO Proptech-PR NestLink today launches free NestScore checks and KnowYourNest property intelligence reports for buyers and homeowners across England and Wales.…
Read More →
Breaking News

Gap between house prices and earnings narrows

Gap between house prices and earnings narrows – but higher borrowing costs limit affordability gains UK’s house price to income ratio falls from 7.6 to 7.3, an 11-year low, as earnings continue to outpace house price growth For first-time buyers, homes now cost less than six times earnings, falling from 6.1 to 5.9 However, monthly…
Read More →
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

New Scheme Could Double Solo Buyer New-Build Options

Your First Home could more than double new-build options for solo first-time buyers The number of available new-build homes in England affordable to an average single first-time buyer could more than double (+114%) under the new Your First Home scheme The maximum purchase price affordable to an average solo buyer could increase by nearly £49,000,…
Read More →
Breaking News

Annual house price growth halves in September

UK annual house price growth halved to 0.8% in September, from 1.6% in August Northern Ireland remained best performing region, with prices up 5.9% year on year in Q3 2026 East Anglia weakest performing region, with annual decline of 0.7% Terraced properties were the strongest performing property type, with a 1.8% rise, whilst flats remained…
Read More →
Estate Agents should not all look the same
Estate Agent Talk

Homesellers say valuation appointment is key

Nearly nine in 10 home sellers say the valuation appointment is key when choosing an estate agent   The latest research from GetAgent.co.uk has revealed that the valuation appointment remains one of the most influential stages of the home selling journey, with almost nine in 10 sellers saying it played an important role when deciding which…
Read More →
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

London’s rental market bucks the national trend

New analysis from the UK’s largest property platform Rightmove reveals that rental demand in the capital is up 7% in September while Great Britain overall is 2% below last year Rental demand in London had been running around 7% below 2025 levels on average throughout 2026 until the end of August before moving into growth…
Read More →