Conservatives have turned their fire on Labour's record on housing, highlighting how Tony Blair's Government has sharply curtailed the Right to Buy and increased taxes on would-be home owners.

Since 1997, Labour have made a series of cuts to the Right to Buy, cutting discounts, hiking the minimum sale price and increasing the qualification period. The average discount has failed to keep pace with the rise in property values, making buying a home impossible for thousands of council tenants. At the same time, Labour have introduced a series of stealth taxes on housing, including council tax up 70 per cent; an extra £1,200 in stamp duty on first time buyers; rising inheritance tax mean smaller legacies - money that could have been spent on a housing deposit; and the abolition of mortgage interest tax relief.

Councillor Justin Tomlinson, North Swindon Conservative Parliamentary Candidate: "In Swindon we see first hand the difficulty for people to get their foot on the housing ladder."

"Labour's promises on home ownership are all talk. Their sweeping cuts to the Right to Buy have deprived thousands of council tenants the chance to buy their own home; even if Labour extended Right to Buy to housing association tenants in theory, in practice tenants would still be caught out by the same fiddled discounts and eligibility requirements which make life difficult for all those in social housing."

"Tony Blair's stealth taxes, like council tax, stamp duty and abolishing mortgage tax relief, have kicked young people off the housing ladder. This is yet another way in which Labour have forgotten the needs of the majority in Britain today."