UK

Fury at Government decision not to compensate Waspi women

The Government’s refusal to compensate has produced strong reactions on social media – not least from Labour MPs.

“The Conservatives with the Liberal Democrats stole this money from those women who were born in the 1950s… Millions of women have been plunged into poverty and don’t just want handouts by social security – they want their money back and quite rightly so… We will right that injustice.” That was Angela Rayner MP, now Deputy Prime Minister, back in 2019.  Today the Government is taking a very different line.

Six years after Labour MPs gave a standing ovation to a Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) protest in Parliament, Keir Starmer’s Government has decided to deny compensation to up to 3.8 million women affected by changes in the women’s state pension age.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves defence of the U-turn was that “I didn’t judge that it would be the best use of taxpayers’ money to pay an expensive compensation bill for something most people knew was happening.”

In response the Waspi campaign tweeted: “Pure sophistry on the part of Rachel Reeves MP. The DWP’s own research showed that nearly 70% of #WASPI women did not know about the change to pension age. That is what the Govt’s own watchdog found and what she is choosing to ignore.”

The Government’s decision has provoked a furious reaction. Beth Winter, former Labour MP for Cynon Valley, tweeted: “I was elected to Parliament in 2019 in a Labour Party committed to compensate Waspi women. Today’s decision by UK Labour govt to reject any compensation is a disgrace. The Labour Party has changed. I haven’t.”

Neil Findlay, former Labour MSP said: “What’s a disgrace – utterly shameless betrayal of the WASPI women.” He added: “Why is it ‘difficult decisions’ by Starmer’s Government always leaves the working class poorer?”

Momentum agreed: “A cruel act of betrayal.” Likewise Apsana Begum MP and  Zarah Sultana MP: “A cruel betrayal.” And Clapham and Brixton Hill Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP: “Another betrayal of WASPI women.” Jon Trickett MP said: “I agree.”

“Our message to the Prime Minister: remember the pledge you made when you were so happy to be photographed alongside the WASPI women,” said Jeremy Corbyn MP. “This isn’t over. The WASPI women will have my full support until they receive the compensation and justice they deserve.”

Social media is today awash with photos of senior Labour members, including Keir Starmer MP, Yvette Cooper MP and Lisa Nandy MP, endorsing the legitimate demands for compensation for the Waspi women.

Richard Burgon MP agreed that the fight goes on. “Just last month I joined the Waspi women outside Parliament to again show my solidarity against the gross injustice they have faced,” he said. “And I will continue to stand with @WASPI_Campaign until this terrible wrong is put right.”

Ian Byrne MP tweeted: “I have long stood with the 50s-born women in West Derby fighting for pensions justice and I will continue to do so. Today’s decision not to award compensation for yet another injustice at the hand of the state is wrong. The fight will continue.”

Labour’s Hartlepool MP Jonathan Brash has also broken ranks, saying the decision is wrong and “flies in the face of… previous statements of support from the Labour Party.”

Ian Lavery MP said: “The announcement today is quite frankly unacceptable. I will continue to fight for justice for all of the women involved in this injustice.”

Nadia Whittome MP pointed out that the  Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman had ruled that the women were owed compensation due to the way that the Department for Work and Pensions’ handling of pension changes had left many financially unprepared. “This historic injustice should be recognised and righted,” she said.

The Campaign for Socialism, voice of the Scottish Labour left, said: “What a cruel decision taking away hope to women who have been let down by the state and had their pensions stolen.”

Alloa and Grangemouth MP Brian Leishman said in Parliament that he was “appalled”. He added later: “I stood up in Parliament today and criticised this decision because it’s wrong. Let’s be clear, compensating Waspi women for their state pension is justice. It’s correcting a failure of government that left millions of women blindsided.”

South Shields MP Emma Lewell-Buck expressed shock and disappointment, saying: “When I said I stood with Waspi women, I meant it… I will continue to work with colleagues across Parliament to make the case for Waspi women.”

Former Labour Director of Policy under Jeremy Corbyn Andrew Fisher said the decision “sets a really bad precedent if Government ignores the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman when it recommends compensation for maladministration by the state.”

Rebecca Long-Bailey MP agreed, saying: “The report was clear – ignoring most of its findings is virtually unprecedented, and I fear a very worrying new precedent has now been set for the importance placed upon the Ombudsman as a vehicle for holding Governments of all stripes to account in the public interest. This remains a historic injustice that must be resolved and this must be revisited urgently.”

Lord Prem Sikka agreed, tweeting: “No point of an independent report if recommendations ignored.”

Clive Lewis MP added his voice: “An independent Ombudsman recommended paying just a quarter of the compensation the women have been campaigning for, and the government has ignored even that. I know many women who’ve battled this injustice for years, and I very much doubt they’ll go quietly now. I’ll continue to stand with them.”

Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell MP warned that the Waspi women “will consider this to be a betrayal and I doubt if they will just go away quietly.”

Image: “I’m proud to announce that Labour will compensate women who were unfairly hit by the rise in the state pension age and give them the justice they deserve.” – Jeremy Corbyn MP 2019. Source: Meeting with women born in the 1950s. Author: Jeremy Corbyn,  licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

The WASPI betrayal

HubMP2012

It’s incomprehensible that a government so recently hammered for cutting Winter Fuel Allowance would reject the Ombudsman’s call for compensation, argues Susan Press.

In  March this year the Ombudsman, after a six-year-long inquiry, announced that every WASPI woman should receive between £1,000 and £2,950 in compensation. It wasn’t much – but it was something after nine long years of campaigning and lobbying.

WASPI – Women Against State Pension Inequality – was founded in 2015 to advocate for the 3.6 million women born in the 1950s who were affected by state pension changes bringing women into line with men and adding five years or more to their wait for a state pension.

After nearly ten years of knockbacks from successive Prime Ministers, few believed Rishi Sunak would accept the Ombudsman’s verdict and offer any of the money suggested. But then he called a General Election and Labour won a landslide. Hopes were raised exponentially.

After all, most Labour MPs had at some point since 2015 pledged support for the WASPI women.  There had been endless selfies with campaigners at Party Conference, photo ops for leaflets and websites, Tweets and Facebook posts and successful rallies in the House of Commons.  New Chancellor  Rachel Reeves  had even had a photo taken with her WASPI-age Mum and Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall was also a keen advocate for the cause.

Her much touted ‘imminent’  announcement about the WASPIs arrived just in time for Christmas . It was an unexpected and horrible twist to the tale.

Nada. Zilch. Nothing at all.

Just a bleak statement to the Chamber announcing that the Minister would not be providing compensation to a single one of the women affected by the state pension age changes, which came into effect decades into their working lives when financial options were already running out.

Though accepting the Ombudsman’s findings, and apologising for the mistakes made in letting women know about the changes, there would be no financial redress. There was evidence, she said, that there was “considerable awareness” of the changes to the pension age, and sending letters earlier would not have made a difference to the women’s ability to make retirement choices.

She also said that there was no evidence of “direct financial loss” resulting from the government’s decision, and that Labour did not believe that paying a flat rate to all women at a cost of up to £10.5bn would be fair or proportionate to taxpayers. 

“I know that many 1950s-born women will be disappointed about this specific decision, but we believe it is the right decision and the fair decision,” said Kendall.

The news came as a profound shock to most of us WASPIs – because quite honestly no-one was expecting the full £58 billion belatedly promised in the 2019 Labour manifesto which would have meant payouts  of up to £31,000. Nor by this stage did we expect the £10,000 compensation which was WASPI’s original ask.  But surely, I thought,  no government and certainly not a Labour one, would refuse  us the flat £1,000 recommended, which would at least have been a token badge of solidarity. It seemed frankly incomprehensible that a government so recently hammered by the electorate for cutting Winter Fuel Allowance would make anything like the same mistake again. And yet… this is exactly what happened.

WASPI  Chair Angela Madden said the decision to ignore the clear recommendations of an independent watchdog which urged Ministers to compensate WASPI women nine months ago was  “unprecedented” and a “bizarre and totally unjustified move.” She was of course correct. However, to many of us in the Labour Party, it was  much worse than that.

The  government’s  sheer lack of political nous, inability to learn the lessons of recent policy disasters and follow the most basic political rules of not breaking promises and sticking to core principles have left members angry and bewildered.

In the last couple of days, leaked WhatsApp messages show MPs are equally furious – and not just the usual suspects either.  Barrow MP Michelle Scrogham, elected only in July, says: “You have to wonder how did we get here? I was elected under a banner of integrity . I stood shoulder to shoulder with these women and promised to fight for them as did many of us. My integrity is worth more than this.”

As dozens of Labour MPs take to social media to explain why they still support the WASPI women, the organisation has vowed to carry on campaigning.  There are calls for a Parliamentary vote on the issue and possibly more legal action, but at this stage it’s hard to see how any of this will result in anything other than more disappointment for the WASPI women.

A template letter with ‘lines to take’ has already been issued by the powers that be and no doubt that is how the majority of MPs will respond to the inevitable backlash of emails and phone calls. But with so much goodwill already squandered since July, I guess very few angry constituents will appreciate the mantra of ‘tough choices’ and ‘black holes’ when for so long they were led to believe that some kind of compensation was actually on the cards. 

And, as previous administrations have eventually found out at great cost, voters do not appreciate politicians not being straight with them. The WASPI betrayal – because that’s what it is  – is unlikely to be forgotten or forgiven by much of the electorate. Particularly women of a certain age.

Susan Press is a former Labour councillor and member of Calder Valley CLP. She was born in October 1957, so is also a WASPI!