A Conservative plan to extend "right-to-buy" to housing association tenants would be "totally wrong" for Winchester with its shortage of affordable homes.

That's the view of Lib-Dem MP, Mark Oaten, who has slammed Tory parliamentary candidate, George Hollingbery, for backing the idea.

Mr Hollingbery, who represents Alresford on the City Council, is consulting larger parish councils and housing associations on the proposal, first put forward by former national party chairman, David Davis.

The Government is tightening up on right-to-buy to protect dwindling stocks of affordable housing.

Mr Oaten said: "Everyone in Winchester knows how difficult it is becoming to recruit police, nurses and social workers.

"Tory plans to extend right-to-buy to housing association properties would only make the problem worse.

"The previous Conservative government's right-to-buy scheme led directly to today's shortage of low-cost housing. Tory attempts to resurrect it show just how out of touch they are, making the same mistakes again."

Mr Oaten criticised Mr Hollingbery for saying money raised from the sale of housing association properties should be ploughed back into building more low-cost homes - something local authorities have been barred from doing with receipts of council house sales.

"This will lead to yet more housing developments in urban areas, with all the well-known planning problems these bring," said Mr Oaten.

"If he wants to get in touch with Winchester's housing priorities, he has to recognise that the right-to-buy path is totally wrong."

But Mr Hollingbery hit back, saying: "Mark Oaten obviously does not understand how council housing works in Winchester. As the average tenant stays in the same house for over 20 years, once a house is let, it is lost to the system.

"Selling it to the tenant leaves them where they would have been anyway and gives the council the cash that was tied up in the house.

"We can then use that money to build more homes for those who need them in Winchester."

He criticised Mr Oaten for saying more low-cost housing was needed for key workers while opposing house building on urban or countryside sites, such as Barton Farm.

"This is typical Mark Oaten - always trying to please everyone at the same time."

A Winchester City Council spokesman said there had been "a very slight increase" in inquiries about council house sales since it was revealed that the Government was considering reforming the right-to-buy legislation.

"We do not know any actual detail yet, but there has been a lot of talk about the Government perhaps reducing discounts.

"It is likely Winchester would be classified a hotspot because there is a high demand for social housing in this area and property prices are high and so we are likely to be included in anything the Government does."

Winchester currently has 5,300 council homes compared to 6,097 in 1993. Last financial year, 49 tenants bought their own homes. Since May 2002, 30 have done so. At present, the council offers discounts of up to £38,000. Meanwhile there are 1,500 people on the housing waiting list.