Labor are “deceiving themselves” if they think the Waspi women will back down | Politics | News

Activists fighting for compensation after failed pay rise for women state pension age have called on MPs who had previously pledged their support this week to show they are not abandoning them.

Labor has refused to pay the compensation recommended by the parliamentary ombudsman, but the so-called Waspi women warn that “if ministers think about this, they are fooling themselves”.

They want MPs to come forward and reaffirm their support in a special debate on Wednesday.

Activists say 3.6 million women born in the 1950s were not adequately informed about the rise in state pension age to align them with men. The Ombudsman recommended that each of those affected receive compensation of between £1,000 and £2,950.

Angela Madden, who chairs the group Women Against State pension Campaign Against Inequality, said: “Waspi women are furious that the government has not compensated them and many have suffered enormously as a result of the DWPthe fact that you have not informed them state pension age increases. In the absence of a fair proposal from the Government to compensate the Waspi women, it is now up to Parliament to find a way to grant redress for the injustice we have suffered.

“(This) debate is a vital opportunity for all those parliamentarians who have promised us their support to reaffirm their previous promises. All options remain on the table to ensure those affected see the justice they deserve.

“If ministers reflect on this, they are fooling themselves.”

Conservative MP Sir John Hayes, who secured the debate, said the Government’s failure to compensate women was “totally unacceptable”.

He warned: “When people feel that unfair decisions are being made, we erode their trust.”

A government spokesman said: “We accept the Ombudsman’s conclusion of maladministration and have apologized for the 28-month delay in writing to women born in the 1950s. However, evidence showed that only one in four people remember reading and receiving letters they did not expect and that in 2006 90 percent of women born in the 1950s knew that the state pension age was changing.

“Previous letters would not have affected this. For these and other reasons, the government cannot justify paying for a £10.5 billion compensation scheme at the expense of the taxpayer.”