TORY promises to replace every home sold under the expanded right to buy are “entirely hollow,” construction union Ucatt said yesterday.

Plans in the Tory manifesto will see the scheme extended to housing associations.

Ministers are expected to confirm that homes sold under right to buy will be replaced by “affordable” homes.

But this usually just means homes rented or sold at 80 per cent of market rates or in shared ownership.

Ministers have refused to stipulate that socially rented homes should be replaced like-for-like.

“This is yet more evidence that the government is creating even more misery for homeless families,” said Ucatt national secretary Brian Rye.

“Rather than selling off scarce council and social housing stock we should be building new properties.”

Of the £1.54 billion generated through right to buy sales since discounts increased, just £588m has been spent on replacement.