Election 2015: David Cameron to pledge right-to-buy extension

 

A Conservative government would extend the right-to-buy scheme for housing association tenants in England, David Cameron will say, as he unveils his party's general election manifesto.

The PM will say up to 1.3 million tenants could buy their homes at a discount as a result, insisting the Tories are the party of working people.
The Conservatives will also pledge a fund to help build 400,000 new homes.
Labour said the right-to-buy pledge would cost £4.5bn and was "unfunded".


The Conservative launch in Swindon comes the day after Ed Miliband put forward Labour's version - promising to improve the lives of Britain's workers and not to pay for any policies through additional borrowing.
The BBC's assistant political editor Norman Smith said the Tory manifesto may also include a pledge to take all those on the minimum wage out of income tax altogether.
In other election news:

• The Green Party will launch its manifesto, pledging to "take back" the NHS from the private sector
• The Liberal Democrats are due to highlight their own housing policies, which involve the government commissioning the building of new homes, and a pledge of at least 10 new garden cities in England and 300,00 new homes a year.
• Nick Clegg has told the BBC he will not work with the Conservatives after the election if they insist on £12bn of welfare cuts
• The latest Ashcroft and Populus opinion polls put both the Conservatives and Labour on 33%