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 . Critics inside Labour Party say the policy added to the housing shortage .