Anger greets UK government decision not to compensate ‘Waspi women’

Advocates for the “Waspi women,” who have been adversely affected by the increasing state pension age, expressed their outrage on Tuesday following the announcement from Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall that there would be no compensation from taxpayers for them.

Kendall informed Members of Parliament that the government acknowledged the conclusions of the parliamentary and health service ombudsman, which stated earlier this year that her department did not effectively convey the changes.

However, she dismissed the suggestion for a uniform compensation plan that would provide payments ranging from £1,000 to £2,950 to each of the over 3 million women impacted.

Kendall elaborated on the government's choice by referencing a survey from 2006, which indicated that 90% of women in the target age range were aware of the upcoming changes.

"Since most women were aware that the state pension age was going up, the government feels that providing a uniform payment to all women, which could cost as much as £10.5 billion, would not be just or reasonable for taxpayers," she explained to the Members of Parliament.

Angela Madden, the leader of the Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) campaign, criticized the announcement.

"This is a strange and completely unwarranted action that will lead many to question the purpose of having an ombudsman if officials can just disregard their rulings. It's a choice that would likely make people like Boris Johnson and Donald Trump feel embarrassed," she stated.

Steve Darling, the spokesperson for work and pensions from the Liberal Democrats, expressed that it was a "shameful day" for Labour. He criticized the new government for neglecting millions of pension-age women who were treated unfairly, even though it wasn't their fault. He pointed out that the government is disregarding the suggestions made by the independent ombudsman, which he described as frankly disgraceful.

Kirsty Blackman, the SNP’s representative for work and pensions, described the decision as “a heartbreaking betrayal of the millions of Waspi women who have fought for justice for years.” She also highlighted that Anas Sarwar, the leader of Scottish Labour, had shown his support for the Waspi campaign.

Sharon Graham, the general secretary of the Unite union, which contributes significantly to the Labour Party, also criticized the decision. She stated, "The government is making poor choices and should reconsider their actions now, as voters will not overlook these mistakes."

Unite, along with various other unions that back the Labour Party, has strongly condemned the government's choice to eliminate the winter fuel payment for the majority of pensioners this season.

In 1995, John Major's Conservative government introduced a law to slowly raise the age at which women could receive their state pension, moving it from 60 to 65 between 2010 and 2020, aligning it with the age for men. However, this schedule was accelerated in 2011.

For many years, advocates of the Waspi movement have claimed that people born between 1950 and 1960 experienced changes without sufficient notice. They emphasize that some women did not receive any notification letter that detailed the upcoming changes to the plans.

They have stated that some individuals impacted by the changes ended up in poverty by the time they turned 60, which is when they anticipated beginning to receive the state pension, currently set at £221.20 per week.

Kendall concurred with the ombudsman’s conclusion regarding the DWP’s delays in communicating with those impacted, but she argued that the letters themselves are "not as important" as the watchdog suggested.

Following the release of the ombudsman's report in March, both Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government and Labour have remained silent about whether they plan to agree to the suggestion for compensation.

However, during the House of Commons session on Tuesday, Labour's representative, Helen Whately, informed members of Parliament that the Labour Party needed to take responsibility for their decision not to support the funding of that initiative.

"To be straightforward, the choice to not offer any compensation is entirely the government's, and they should take responsibility for it," she stated.

During his visit to Estonia on Tuesday, Keir Starmer was questioned about the matter. He expressed his belief that it was unfair for taxpayers to cover the expenses related to compensation.

"I completely understand the worries of the Waspi women. However, I also need to consider whether it's fair to place an additional financial burden on taxpayers at this time, which is what this would entail," the prime minister stated.

During Jeremy Corbyn's time as leader, the Labour Party promised to fully compensate the Waspi women in their manifestos for both the 2017 and 2019 elections. When this issue was brought up with Kendall in the House of Commons, she replied that her party had not won either of those elections.

Corbyn, now an independent member of Parliament, criticized the government's choice. He shared on social media, "First, they reduced support for winter heating. Now this? Who is the government really supporting?"