Government figures have shown that only one council property is being built for every seven sold through right to buy, according to Inside Housing

The government promised that a new council house or flat would be built to replace every one sold to tenants when it announced the new drive for the scheme by increasing discounts.

However, in 2012/13 and in the year to date, 10,954 council homes have been sold through the right to buy scheme, but only 1,662 replacements were started in the same period.

Emma Reynolds, the shadow minister for housing, said when she spoke to The Independent: ‘David Cameron has broken his promise to replace badly needed council homes. Labour supports those who want to buy their own homes but there are nearly 2 million families on council waiting lists desperate for a home and this government is failing to live up to its promise to replace every home sold with a new home built. It just goes to show you can’t trust Tory promises to tackle the housing crisis.’

Labour has promised to double house building to at least 200,000 homes a year by 2020 if it wins the next election.