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Betrayed over housing policy

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.

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