Council housing

March 1949, Elstree, Hertfordshire: Aneurin Bevan, the post-war minister for health and housing, visits new homes Photograph: PA/PA

March 1954, Hertfordshire: Two women and a child chat in the garden of a council house in the new town of Hemel Hempstead Photograph: John Chillingworth/Getty

1977, London: A parade marking the Queen's silver jubilee makes its way through an east London estate Photograph: Jurgen Schadeberg/Getty

April 1979, London: Margaret Thatcher visits the Parker family, of Ealing, west London, who were among the first to buy their council house under the Tories' right to buy policy Photograph: PA/PA

1986, Bradford: Life on the notorious Buttershaw estate in Bradford inspired Andrea Dunbar to write the play Rita, Sue and Bob Too, later made into a film starring (from left) George Costigan, Michelle Holmes and Siobhan Finneran Photograph: Ronald Grant Archive

1997, London: The typical image of a run-down housing estate Photograph: Rex

November 2001, Glasgow: The Red Road Flats, which are due to be demolished. The council sold the 1,300 flats in eight towers en masse to Glasgow Housing Association in 2003 Photograph: Murdo Macleod/Freelance

June 2002, Surrey: Most of the country's social housing is now run by housing associations, including Peabody, which created the ultra-green BedZed development in south London Photograph: Raf Makda/Rex

September 2005, London: The Aylesbury Estate, Europe's largest council housing estate, is due to be entirely demolished for the regeneration of Elephant and Castle Photograph: Graeme Robertson/Guardian

November 2006, London: The sun shines on Trellick Tower, the iconic council block built in 1972 Photograph: Scott Barbour/Getty

June 2008, Essex: Demolition work at Lintons housing estate, Barking and Dagenham. The local council is knocking down the high-rise blocks and returning to the old 'cottage' style housing estate of pre-war social housing Photograph: Daniel Ward/handout

July 2008, Essex: A house bought under the right to buy scheme next to a bricked up council house on an estate in Dagenham Photograph: Graeme Robertson/Guardian

July 2008, Essex: Ron Goodchild outside his former council house in Dagenham. He bought his and his wife’s three-bedroom house for £8900 in 1982, and now reckons it’s worth around £180,000 Photograph: Graeme Robertson/Guardian