IT WAS a manifesto promise in the run-up to the 2016 Assembly elections and now the first steps are being taken towards abolishing social housing tenants’ right to buy their properties.

The move will bring to an end a flagship policy of Margaret Thatcher brought in in 1980.

At the time, it was immediately popular with tenants. Hundreds of thousands of people nationwide took advantage of the scheme, and the discounts on offer, to buy their then council homes.

It was good for individuals. However, the downside has been the resulting reduction in the stock of social housing.

As councils were not able to re-invest all the money from house sales into building new social housing, the scheme has contributed to our well-documented housing shortage.

And that is why the Assembly Government in Wales is to follow the Scottish lead and ditch the scheme.

But in our view this can only be a part of the jigsaw.

Scrapping right to buy will only solve one part of the problem.

What is needed is a firm commitment to building social housing across Wales to deal with the current high demand, let alone that of future years.