TORY claims of the government’s biggest housing programme in a generation were blown apart yesterday by the its own figures showing a steep fall in building.

According to the latest Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) house-building data, there has been a 20 per cent drop in new builds over the last quarter.

Last November, Chancellor George Osborne promised £7 billion to housebuilding programme during his Autumn Statement and claimed: “We are the builders.”