For all her privatisations of great industries and epic showdowns with reactionary foes, many ordinary Britons admired Margaret Thatcher for nothing sexier than letting tenants in social housing buy their homes. It was the moment when years of think-tank theorising about a property-owning democracy became as tangible as bricks and mortar. Four Conservative leaders have come and gone since then but the latest, David Cameron, also has an arresting vision that needs grounding in specifics. For years he has talked of giving power away, not only to local government but also to citizens themselves.
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