England to sell eight times more council homes than it built last year, report finds
England will sell off more than eight times as many council homes in 2025-26 as were constructed the previous year, research has found.Right to buy is depleting council housing stock more quickly than public housing can be replaced, forcing people to spend more money on private market rents and obtain less secure tenancies, a report from the thinktank Common Wealth finds.Its analysis of government data in England found that 38,170 social homes and 2,850 council homes were constructed by the government in 2023-24.In 2024-25, 2,260 council homes were built.There were 13,966 sell-offs of council houses through right to buy in 2023-24 and 8,656 in 2024-25.
An analysis in the i Paper estimated that 18,500 council homes will be sold off in 2025-26 – more than eight times more than the number built in 2024-25.The report concludes that if the government wants to increase the supply of social rental housing quickly, it must invest in buying back and restoring homes sold off under right to buy, alongside more council housebuilding.Adam Peggs, the report’s author, said: “We need to pull every effective lever we can find to expand public housing.Council housing gave people secure, low-cost homes in the past.With the right framework, it can give people high-quality, genuinely affordable homes, with real democratic voice in the future too.
But we need to build the political will to make it happen.“Every day of delay is another day families languish in squalid temporary accommodation.The government has the tools to turn this emergency around – and more quickly than they might admit – they just need to use them.”The report, which is published on Thursday, is also calling for expanded “right of first refusal” powers, enabling local authorities to be the preferred buyer when ex-social homes and private rental homes enter the market.Since 1980, 2.
4m council homes have been sold off under right to buy, at a discount that Common Wealth calculated was valued at £194bn, accounting for house price appreciation, with 41% now belonging to private landlords,As a result, council homes have collapsed from accommodating about 30% of households in the late 1970s to 6% today, a decline of about 80%,Common Wealth’s report analysed council buy-ups of existing homes for public and social housing in seven countries, and determined that funding and incentivising a national right to buy back scheme would be a cost-effective policy in the UK,The Spanish government has granted powers for a right of first refusal to the country’s new national public housing company after Barcelona acquired 1,500 homes – more than one-fifth of new affordable homes in the city – through right of first refusal powers since 2016, often below their market value,The report also recommends a national rollout of a London scheme, in which the Greater London Authority bought 1,500 mostly ex-council homes in the first year of its right to buy back scheme.
The New Economics Foundation calculated that this would generate a net saving to the taxpayer within 16 years.A 2024 report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation concluded that buyouts would offer better value for public money, rather than paying housing benefit to private landlords or private temporary accommodation.Sign up to First EditionOur morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersafter newsletter promotionKwajo Tweneboa, a social housing campaigner and the author of Our Country in Crisis, said: “Homes that were once publicly owned are now profit-generating assets for private landlords.That’s the legacy of right to buy.Reversing that damage isn’t just a nice idea.
It’s essential.“Buying back ex-council homes and investing in a new generation of high-quality, genuinely affordable council homes must be the backbone of any serious plan to fix this crisis.That means central government stepping up with proper funding and power – not just warm words and weak targets.”A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “We do not recognise these figures.We know, however, that too many social homes have been sold off before they can be replaced, which has directly contributed to the worst housing crisis in living memory.
“That’s why we have introduced right-to-buy reforms to reverse the decline in much needed council housing, alongside investing £39bn to deliver the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation.” This article was amended on 21 August 2025 because an earlier version omitted to note that it was an analysis published in the i Paper that estimated that 18,500 council homes will be sold off in 2025-26.
England get the party started on a night that shows just how big this World Cup could be | Andy Bull
Electric atmosphere in Sunderland and at the stadium proves women’s tournament has grown up quicker than anyone ever expectedIt was quiet at Sunderland station on Friday afternoon, and quiet all the way up Union and South Streets and quiet all the way along to Keel Square, where the World Cup was hidden, waiting around the corner like a surprise party. There three, four, five thousand or more were bouncing up and down while a stout lad with Spandex trousers, a sequined jacket and serious pipes was belting out the opening notes of We Will Rock You on the big stage while his band thrashed away behind him. If everywhere else around town was empty, it was because everyone was here. It was a hell of a way to start a World Cup.“Let’s show them how we do it in the north-east!” shouted out the Mackem Mercury as he set a carnival parade off marching over the bridge towards the Stadium of Light for the kick-off
England off to a flyer in 11-try Women’s Rugby World Cup mauling of USA
Outside chatter of a Rugby World Cup favourites tag and expectations on a team can only go so far, the Red Roses had to go out and prove it on the pitch. The host nation more than lived up to their hype as they kicked off their campaign in front of a record crowd for an opening game at a women’s World Cup with a hugely dominant display against the USA which has underlined their ambitions for the World Cup crown.The prop Hannah Botterman and the centre Megan Jones were standouts in a good team display and the scary thought for their future opponents is that the performance was far from England’s best.Handling errors were at the heart of the sloppy areas for the Red Roses but the hosts were commanding at scrum time which got them out of jail on a few occasions. When their attack did click nothing could stop them, the best try of the 11 coming with Botterman’s clever line run in the first half
Aussie ace Asfoora earns tilt at Irish prize after blitzing Nunthorpe field
The third time was the charm for the Australian-trained sprinter Asfoora as Henry Dwyer’s mare took the Group One Nunthorpe Stakes, the feature on day three of the Ebor Festival, after near-misses at Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood. “It’d be a bad night to be a beer in York, I’d reckon,” Dwyer told ITV Racing, before heading to the winner’s enclosure to kick off the celebrations.Oisin Murphy enjoyed a perfect trip on the 11-1 shot, as he was able to slipstream Night Raider, the early pacesetter, through the first three-and-a-half furlongs and then quicken into a decisive lead when Danny Tudhope’s mount drifted right a furlong out. But while it was very much Plan A from the rider’s point of view, the dedication required to get Asfoora spot-on for this high-speed dash down the Knavesmire should not be underestimated.Her attempt to win the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot in June for the second year running had ended in valiant defeat, while Asfoora was still not quite at her peak for the King George Stakes at Goodwood in August
Keegan Bradley agonising over whether to be a playing Ryder Cup captain for US
Keegan Bradley has opened up on the intense strain associated with his upcoming and “defining” decision on whether to play for, as well as captain, the United States in the Ryder Cup.“I am going to be really happy when this week is over,” Bradley said. “I have about had it with this whole thing. I am ready to figure out what we are doing and get a team together.”Bradley is due huge credit for his candour
Rugby World Cup: Ireland offer support to Shannon Ikahihifo after cancer diagnosis
Ireland’s World Cup squad have offered their support to their teammate Shannon Ikahihifo after she revealed her breast cancer diagnosis. The Trailfinders second-row Ikahihifo, who has three Irish caps, was part of the pre-tournament training group but did not make the final squad.On Friday the 30-year-old posted news of her condition on Instagram, writing: “Crazy to think that one day you can be running around on the rugby pitch feeling completely fine, then five days later you’re sitting in a hospital room being told you have cancer.“ Still a little in shock if I’m honest, but I’m so blessed to have the most amazing husband, family and friends that always carry when things start to feel a bit heavy. Fair to say she’s been a pretty tough few weeks
Serena Williams built her legacy on defiance. Why lend it to Ozempic culture? | Bryan Armen Graham
When Serena Williams was featured in a People magazine story on Thursday morning discussing her 31lb weight loss, the rollout had all the hallmarks of an advertisement draped in the thin veil of an all-caps EXCLUSIVE.Vogue’s social channels amplified their own access, NBC’s Today show gave her a one-on-one segment and Elle published a carefully packaged interview in which Williams declared she wanted to break the stigma around weight-loss drugs, each of them in lockstep with what appeared to be a hard 9am press embargo. This vintage Jill Smoller quadrafecta was not a spontaneous confessional; it was a coordinated media blitz pegged to the US Open, the tentpole event of American tennis, which kicks off on Sunday in earnest.Yet for all the precision and polish, it was unmistakably a commercial. The product wasn’t just Williams’s refined physique, already the subject of months-long speculation among her 32 million followers across social media
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