Labour is trying to shut down Margaret Thatcher 's flagship 'right to buy ' policy by the back door , a minister warned yesterday . Housing minister Brandon Lewis branded Labour the 'enemy of aspiration ' over growing moves by the party to curb the right of people to buy their council home . Earlier this month , Ed Miliband 's housing adviser Sir Michael Lyons described right to buy as a 'failure ' . Welsh Labour has said it will restrict or even abolish the right to buy if it wins power in the principality next year . Ministers fear Mr Miliband could cut a post-election deal with the SNP , which has already scrapped the right to buy . Earlier this month , Labour leader Ed Miliband 's ( pictured ) housing adviser Sir Michael Lyons described right to buy as a 'failure ' And a string of Labour councils have introduced moves in recent months that will curb the right to buy in the future . A number of Labour-run authorities are exploiting a loophole in the law to avoid having to offer council-owned homes for sale to their tenants . Enfield Council , in London , has set up a private company to buy up local properties for rent , boasting that the new company will be 'exempt from right-to-buy obligations – meaning the properties would be owned by the council until the authority chooses to sell them . ' Sheffield Council has set up a new firm to build and run more than 2,000 homes in the city . And other Labour-run councils such as Ealing and Thurrock are now following suit . Mr Lewis said he would act to outlaw the practice if the Conservatives win power in May . But he also accused Labour of a wider attempt to run down the right to buy , which the Tories are expected to extend . Mr Lewis said : 'Once again the Labour Party is proving itself to be the enemy of aspiration by trying to block the rights of hard working people to buy their own home . 'The right to buy not only gives something back to families who worked hard , paid their rent and played by the rules , it also allows them to do up their home , change their front door , improve their garden - without getting permission from the council . 'This Government has worked hard to reinvigorate the scheme , which gives people a sense of pride and ownership not just in their home , but in their street and neighbourhood , helping to build strong families and stable mixed communities . Now Housing Minister Brandon Lewis claims Labour is trying to shut down Margaret Thatcher 's flagship 'right to buy ' policy by the back door . 'By contrast in Labour-run Wales the housing ladder has been kicked away for thousands of hardworking families and Welsh Labour is returning to its outdated socialist dogma , believing that government rather than individuals know what is best for them and their families . ' Labour critics of the right to buy claim that it has resulted in the stock of public housing being slashed , increasing the housing shortage . But ministers dismiss the charge , pointing out that councils are now allowed to use the proceeds from sales to build new homes , increasing the stock of housing . The right to buy withered under the last Labour government , which slashed the discounts available to tenants . In 2009-10 , barely 3,000 people exercised the right to buy their home , compared to more than 200,000 at the height of the policy 's popularity in 1982 . The Conservatives are expected to extend the right to buy to 2.5 million people living in housing association properties if they win the election . Labour 's housing review called for the right to be 'reviewed ' . Former council boss Sir Michael Lyons , who drew up the report for Mr Miliband , said extending the right to buy would be 'disastrous ' .
Housing Minister claims Labour is trying to shut down 'right to buy ' policy . Brandon Lewis says they are trying to 'block the rights of hard working people to buy their own home ' Scheme branded a 'failure ' by Labour leader Ed Miliband 's housing advisor . Welsh Labour will restrict or abolish right to buy if it wins power next year . Comment: