THE Tories could sell off housing associations in a bid to hide their debts, campaigners warned yesterday as a trade union appealed to members to share their housing “horror stories.”

Influential right-wing think tank Policy Exchange said that the government could nationalise and then sell off social housing en masse if the Office for National Statistics decided to reclassify housing associations as public bodies.

Trade union Unite, which represents thousands of housing workers, called on Housing Minister Brandon Lewis to distance himself from the comments.

“If this is allowed to go ahead then … in the space of less than 40 years the council house stock assiduously built up since the first world war will end up in the hands of fat cat property developers,” said Unite not-for-profit chief Sally Kosky.

The Communication Workers Union launched the next phase of its Homes for All campaign yesterday, calling on members to share their accounts on a campaign website.