Nicola Sturgeon Right: To Buy

Organizations like Shelter Scotland and various housing associations welcomed the move, noting that it halted the "drain on supply".

In Scotland, the Right to Buy scheme—a hallmark of Margaret Thatcher’s 1980s housing policy—officially ended on July 31, 2016. Nicola Sturgeon , then First Minister, was the primary architect of its demise, describing the decision as a vital step to "safeguard social housing stock for future generations". 🏠 The End of an Era nicola sturgeon right to buy

The Scottish Conservatives criticized the move, calling it a "backwards step" that "wrecked the aspirations" of people wanting to own their own homes. 🏠 The End of an Era The Scottish

The abolition of Right to Buy (RTB) was a multi-year process led by Sturgeon during her time as Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing, and Cities Strategy. 000 to 400

Over 455,000 properties were sold in Scotland under RTB since 1980. Sturgeon argued this significantly reduced the availability of homes for cheap rent.

Some recent studies (un-peer-reviewed) have suggested that the original RTB scheme contributed to long-term educational and economic gains for families, sparking new debates about the trade-offs of Sturgeon’s decision. 'Right to buy' to be scrapped in Scotland - BBC News

With roughly 150,000 to 400,000 people on social housing waiting lists at various points, she maintained that public housing should remain available for long-term rent.