AJG, Mrs Thatcher as the Prime minister who decided people could buy their council house. It was never to raise money to build more council houses , just the opposite. There was a problem with Labour Councils not collecting rent especially in London, it was like free houses it just couldn’t continue. It gave people a chance of owning their own property , but she wouldn’t allow the money to be used to build more council houses when Tennants decided they didn’t want to pay rent. It’s a bit like now . The rest of the world think everything is free in England.