I REFER to the letter by Philip Whitelegg May 10 “Thatcher helped so many”.

This very creditable gesture made by Mrs Thatcher was in my view a political stunt.

By selling off the council house stock Thatcher thought she would at a stroke turn countless council house tenants into house owners and they in turn would vote Tory in their thousands as a mark of gratitude.

Coming from a council house myself, I greatly value council housing – shame she didn’t.

The sad thing and a lasting testament to Thatcher’s misguided concept, was not to allow the proceeds of sales to be channelled towards more council house construction.

had that happened then her policy would have held far more credence – Meaning possibly today we might have a far greater supply of council housing available which in our current society would have been of great value.

So in my view this so called creditable gesture was nothing more than another Tory sham, which has helped bring about our current housing legacy.

This is a legacy that no government since have addressed leaving hundreds of thousands looking for homes.

PJ LITTLEFIELD, Winton, Bournemouth