Tories' right to buy 'could dent public finances and reduce social housing'

IFS sounds warning over flagship Tory policy, saying sale of best council stock also risks widening gulf between rich and poor

Extending the right-to-buy scheme to housing association tenants could undermine the UK's public finances, according to an assessment of the Conservative party's flagship policy by the Institute of Fiscal Studies.

The independent tax thinktank warned that selling off housing association homes would "represent a significant giveaway " potentially billions of pounds over the next parliament" and would "worsen the UK's underlying public finance position".