Labour government refusal to pay compensation to Waspi women branded 'shameful'

Labour has been accused of betrayal after ministers rejected calls to compensate women hit by changes to the state pension age.

The UK government’s Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said it was an "extremely difficult decision", but the Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) campaign described the move as an "insult".

They say 3.6 million women born in the 1950s were not properly informed of the rise in state pension age to bring them into line with men.

Waspi campaigners in Glasgow. | John Devlin/National World.

Nine months ago, a parliamentary ombudsman recommended compensation of between £1,000 and £2,950 to each of those affected.

The move will cause further tensions between Scottish Labour and the party led by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

Scottish Labour had hoped for a “compromise” on the issue that would have allowed for some payments for the Waspi women most in need.

The party’s leader in Scotland, Anas Sarwar, posted on social media in 2017: “Under my leadership, WASPI women will finally receive the justice they deserve.”

The move also follows politically damaging decisions by the UK party to cut the winter fuel allowance for most pensioners and to maintain the two-child benefit cap.

Angela Madden , chairwoman of Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) said: "The Government has today made an unprecedented political choice to ignore the clear recommendations of an independent watchdog which ordered ministers urgently to compensate Waspi women nine months ago.

"This is a bizarre and totally unjustified move which will leave everyone asking what the point of an ombudsman is if ministers can simply ignore their decisions.

"It feels like a decision that would make the likes of Boris Johnson and Donald Trump blush."

She described an action plan to avoid such mistakes in future as "an insult both to the women" and to the investigation previously carried out by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PSHO) into how changes to the state pension age were communicated.

Ms Madden said: "An overwhelming majority of MPs back Waspi's calls for fair compensation and all options remain on the table. Parliament must now seek an alternative mechanism to force this issue on to the order paper so justice can be done."

A report from the Ombudsman found maladministration at the hands of the UK government, which Ms Kendall accepted, while she also apologised for a 28-month delay in writing to women impacted by the changes.

In a statement, she said: “These two facts: that most women knew the state pension age was increasing and that letters aren’t as significant as the Ombudsman says, as well as other reasons, have informed our conclusion that there should be no scheme of financial compensation to 1950s-born women, in response to the Ombudsman’s report.

“The alternative put forward in the report is for a flat rate compensation scheme, at level four of the Ombudsman’s scale of injustice, this would provide £1,000 to £2,950 per person at a total cost between £3.5 billion and £10.5 billion.

“Given the vast majority of women knew the state pension age was increasing, the Government does not believe paying a flat rate to all women at a cost of up to £10.5 billion would be fair or proportionate to taxpayers.”

Responding to the news, Scottish Labour social security spokesman Paul O’Kane said: “Many will be disappointed that no compensation is being offered to the thousands of women impacted by the Tory decision to raise their pension age without proper notice.

“Of course the UK Government should be focused on fixing the economic mess it inherited, but in recognising this injustice we would hope to have seen a compromise position that would have allowed for some form of compensation for the Waspi women most in need from this long running failure.”

Mr O’Kane added it is “right that the UK Government has recognised the injustice suffered by the Waspi women”.

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said: “When it was politically convenient to do so, the Labour secretary of state chose to back and support Waspi women.

“Today she chooses to betray them. When the public voted for change, instead they’ve been given more of the same. Shame on them.

“If (she) is so confident in her position, then why does she not bring a vote to this House to let us all decide.”

Ms Kendall said: “I’m sure he can have a vote in the Scottish Parliament if the SNP Government decides to do that.”

The Scottish Government has some powers over social security, but responsibility for the state pension remains with the UK Government, rendering any vote in Holyrood effectively meaningless in its impact on pensions.

Fellow SNP MP Kirsty Blackman also raised comments from Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who said Waspi women would “finally receive the justice they deserve” under his leadership when he ran unsuccessfully for the role in 2017.

Ms Blackman said: “Is the justice they deserve being paid less than their male counterparts throughout their career?

“Is the justice they deserve being sacked or forced to resign from their jobs when they had children?

“Is the justice they deserve the removal of the winter fuel payment? Why are the Labour Government absolutely determined to take every opportunity to screw over 1950s born women?”

Ms Kendall replied: “I am proud of the last Labour government’s record on helping the lowest-paid women pensioners and the improvements that we delivered.

“This is not about that issue, this is about the way the state pension age was communicated and if (Ms Blackman) wants a different approach then the SNP Government in Scotland can do a different approach using the £4.9 billion settlement we have provided, the biggest-ever in the history of devolution.”

Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney said the Labour Government has “chosen to string pensioners along before completely betraying them”.

He said: “But this is not just a shameful episode for the UK Government, it is yet another serious embarrassment for the Labour leadership in Scotland.

“The choice for Scottish Labour is will they do the right thing and stand up for older people in Scotland or will they stand up for the Prime Minister?”

Liberal Democrat Scottish affairs spokeswoman Christine Jardine said the move marked a “day of shame for the Government”.

She added: “The new Government has turned its back on millions of pension-age women who were wronged through no fault of their own, ignoring the independent Ombudsman’s recommendations, and that is frankly disgraceful.

“The Conservative Party left our economy in a shambles, but asking wronged pensioners to pay the price of their mismanagement is simply wrong.”

Scottish Green social justice spokeswoman Maggie Chapman said the UK Government should “hang their heads in shame”.

She added: “I am devastated for the women affected by this news and I am disgusted that Labour think they can get away with this.

“The Scottish Greens will persist in the fight to ensure the Waspi women receive full, fair and fast compensation.”

The pension age for both men and women is set to rise from 66 to 67 between 2026 and 2028.