A TOP politician is calling for a truce in the feud over plans to shift council houses out of public hands.

Russell Holland (Con, St Margaret), the cabinet member in charge of housing, has invited opposition leader Jim Grant (Lab, Western) to end the war of words and sit down and talk.

The stock transfer plans will see tenants vote on whether or not to move the council’s homes over to a non-profit housing association and they are being hotly contested by Labour.

Now Coun Holland has accused Coun Grant of playing politics with people’s homes and said: “I’ve written to Jim Grant because tenants have to make a very important choice and political arguments are making it harder for them.

“I’m asking Jim Grant to sit down with me and with the independent tenants’ adviser to agree the facts and figures about the housing transfer.

“I can understand that political parties can disagree on matters of principle, but the facts about the transfer are there for all to see.

“It’s time the Labour Party stopped making political points and start to talk about the issues that are important to tenants.

“My message to tenants is that it is their home and their choice. Party politics should stay out.”

The council faces a multi-million-pound bill unless it can divest itself of control of the houses It is claimed tenants would be worse off if the council accepts the debt.

The call for a sit-down follows an exchange at the Civic Offices at last week’s cabinet meeting, during which Coun Des Moffatt (Lab, Western) stormed out.

But Coun Grant has rejected Coun Holland’s offer and repeated his accusation the council-funded newsletter Housing Matters was encouraging tenants to vote for the transfer.

“If Coun Holland wants not to be party-political he should have thought about it before he arranged for that leaflet to go out,” he said.

The council has asked the Government for more time to run the £600,000 ballot of tenants.

It claims the timeline is too short to allow a proper consultation.

So it is seeking permission to extend the April 1 deadline, by which time the council would have to finance the debt (if tenants vote no to transfer) or set up the new housing organisation to take control of the homes (if tenants vote yes to transfer).

It had been hoped an answer would be received a fortnight ago. But Coun Holland said they are still locked in negotiations with central Government over the extension.