MARGARET THATCHER’S 1980s Tory government became notorious for its championing of council tenants’ right to buy their homes at a discount.

The benefit to existing tenants was clear — the chance to own their own home, becoming part of what the Tories called a property-owning democracy.

Some tenants overstretched themselves and lost their homes as rising interest rates pushed mortgage repayments beyond their capability.

But hundreds of thousands of people consolidated their property ownership, many of whom have profited from rises in house prices to improve their economic circumstances.

So far so good for these right to buy beneficiaries, but so far so bad for millions of families and individuals who languish on council housing waiting lists.

Had councils been able to able to invest their sales receipts in building new homes, the homeless might have had some hope.

But the Tories and subsequent New Labour governments refused to allow this, browbeating councils into transferring entire housing estates into the private sector in the form of housing associations or arm’s length management organisations (Almos).

While government didn’t actually ban local authorities from building new council homes, the costs were prohibitive and all new properties would be at risk from existing right to buy legislation.

Labour in Wales and the SNP in Scotland have both pledged that, if returned to office next May, they will ban council house sales.

As positive as this is, it is trumped by the Tory government’s threat to extend right to buy to housing association stock and to compel local authorities to flog off remaining high-end council properties in order to provide financial compensation to the housing associations.

The injustice of making councils pay the cost of an iniquitous national government policy is self-evident.

The logic is indisputable. David Cameron and George Osborne are not interested in solving Britain’s acute housing problem.

Nor are they seeking to extend home ownership, which fell this year to its lowest level in nearly 30 years.

House prices in much of Britain — and especially in London and south-east England — have become unaffordable for most would-be first-time buyers without financial assistance from parents or grandparents.

People seeking to own a home of their own are forced to stay in their family home to save up for a deposit or to wave goodbye to their dream because ever-rising private rents make it impossible to build a lump sum to put down.

Shadow housing minister John Healey told his party conference that a Labour government would build 100,000 council homes a year, which is less than what’s needed but puts Tory government plans in the shade.

The Tories’ sinister aim is to take an axe to public housing, restricting it to a minuscule scale that caters only a tiny minority of people on benefits, and handing the entire non-landowning population over to the tender mercies of avaricious property speculators.

Awareness of this scheme should have persuaded housing associations to join hands with local councils and Almos to fire a shot across the bows of the government.

Unfortunately, after initially threatening legal action against the government over a number of principled points, the National Housing Federation, which represents housing associations, is now proposing an accommodation designed to protect housing associations’ independence to the detriment of local councils.

Such a betrayal should be an eye-opener for anyone who confuses council stock with housing association properties, calling both “social housing.”

It should also unite housing campaigners with the labour movement to oppose the government’s vicious class-war plans.