It has been claimed that Help to Buy is a copied version of a scheme originally designed and implemented in Warrington by the local council, in order to get the young local people into the property market. It is a scheme that was never built to work on a nationwide scale.

The Local Government Association was told this week at a conference in Bournemouth, that David Cameron picked up the scheme and turned it into his government’s flagship movement after it spread to 60 local councils, with it helping over 200 young people in the borough of Warrington.

Terry O’Neill, leader of Warrington Borough Council, reportedly made the claim. “The coalition government copied the policy… but our average mortgage is £130,000, and the government has got it wrong. I think they have damaged the housing prospects of some of young people” he said.

“It’s councils in this country that are really leading this charge… We’re the ones who are driving the renaissance in this country” he added. His council have also managed to create a lending scheme that helps out local developers, generating more homes and making the council a respectable 1.25% return on investments that have reached as high as £100,000.

The conference also heard about a Peterborough scheme that is installing solar panels on both public and private buildings, and making money back off of them.

These examples show that local councils are thinking ahead which is necessary to reboot the economy.

Whereas the central government is rolling out (supposedly copied) schemes across the country, and sparking massive debates on overheating the economy, local councils are focusing on smaller areas and making impressive headway in many areas, including the housing market.