I BUMPED into our parliamentary Conservative candidate Harriett Baldwin in my street the other day.

After spending a lifetime working in the provision of housing, I asked her where were the sites in Malvern where she proposed to build the replacements for the homes that would be sold off under the new right to buy proposed by her party.

Your readers may not be surprised to hear that she didn’t answer my question.

I wasn’t aware that there were the ‘brownfield’ sites in this district on which the Conservative policy expects the new homes to be built, but perhaps our Conservative district council has already identified such sites, but not told Mrs Baldwin.

Or could it possibly be that the great majority of housing association homes sold would in reality never be replaced and in future more and more Malvern residents would live in expensive unsatisfactory privately rented homes, with much of the rent subsidised by the taxpayer through housing benefit?

Could it be that the real objective of the policy could be to buy a few votes for the Conservatives in marginal seats?

Steve Smart

Malvern