They sold the housing stock off to the people that were actually renting the council houses, increasing home ownership and enriching a generation of working class people.
And for every person who made a bit of money from it, there was another who ended up having to sell back to the council for a reduced amount when they started knocking these things down in the 2000's.
But they didn't. What they did instead was sell them off without getting any more, and used the money to cut taxes. Which is fine for the generation who benefited from that round, but means the safety net is no longer there for future generations.
[1] http://metro.co.uk/2011/04/03/bob-crow-gets-taxpayers-help-w...