Millions of working class families will be given the chance to buy their own homes under radical Tory plans to extend Margaret Thatcher's flagship housing policy. Under proposals being considered by Downing Street, the right-to-buy scheme - currently restricted to families in council owned properties - will be extended to up to 2.5million housing association tenants. David Cameron hopes the 'big door step offer' will sway enough working class voters to earn him a second term as Prime Minister. Since right-to-buy was set up in 1980 by the Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, more than two million council houses have been sold . Under a plan being championed by the Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, housing association tenants will be given the right to buy their homes at a knockdown price. Since right-to-buy was set up in 1980, more than two million council houses have been sold, but current rules make it difficult for those in housing associations to buy their homes. Housing associations are non-profit making private bodies that provide low-cost social housing. Regulated by the state, they receive public funding. Right-to-buy rules allow most council tenants to buy their homes at a discount, but the rules do not apply to housing associations. They only qualify for limited discounts and can only buy a property that has been acquired by an association since 1997. Discounts vary between areas, but range from £9,000 to £16,000. Council house tenants, by contrast, can get discounts of up to £77,000 across England and £102,700 in London. David Cameron hopes a 'big door step offer' on housing will sway enough working class voters to earn him a second term as Prime Minister . Under the new plans, housing associations will be able to use the funds from the sale of the houses to build more homes, the Sunday Times has reported. Taxpayers' money will be used to fund the discounts, which are expected to be 30% off the market value of the home. A more radical plan advanced by Duncan Smith, to simply give away housing association properties to those who have worked for a year, has been ditched. Number 10 believe it would cost votes among those who have worked for much longer to save for their own home. A senior Downing Street source said: 'You are safe to say that broadening right-to-buy is on the cards.' But the source added: 'Giving away homes is off the table. If your message is that you want to reward people who work hard and get on, it wouldn't be seen as fair to give homes to people in social housing while others have been saving for years to buy their own place.'
Right-to-buy could be extended to up to 2.5m housing association tenants . Tories hope the 'big door step offer' will sway enough working class voters . Scheme considered by Downing Street to win over 'soft' Labour supporters .