SNP urges Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer 'not to abandon' WASPI women as Jeremy Hunt refuses to commit to payouts

The Chancellor Hunt declined to promise compensation for women hit by changes to state pension eligibility.

The SNP has urged Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer “not to abandon” the Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) women after both main parties refuse to commit to payouts.

Sunday saw the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Labour Party Chair Anneliese Dodds both decline to give a commitment to full compensation.

Now SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has written to both party leaders and warned they must not “shamefully” abandon the Waspi women.

Campaigners for Women Against State Pension Inequality Campaign (Waspis) gather at the statue of political activist Mary Barbour, the woman who led rent strikes during the First World War, in Govan, Glasgow.

In his letter to the Prime Minister and Sir Keir, Mr Flynn claimed "women in Scotland have been betrayed and badly let down by Westminster".

He said: "I am writing to demand you give a cast-iron guarantee that Waspi women will receive full compensation - after senior Tory and Labour Party figures rolled back again on commitments to delivering justice for 3.6million women impacted by the Waspi pensions scandal.

"Women in Scotland have been betrayed and badly let down by Westminster over this scandal. You must not break your promises and abandon Waspi women yet again - as it shamefully appears you are preparing to do.

"The publication of the report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, in relation to the injustice suffered by those who have become known as the Waspi women, marks a critical juncture in this long-standing campaign.

“The sheer scale of this scandal demands a clear and compassionate response from all those tasked with political leadership. The report and its conclusions – compiled over 5 years - couldn’t be clearer. These women were failed, and they were failed by Westminster.

"The responsibility to act swiftly is paramount if justice is to be delivered. It is estimated that around 40,000 those impacted sadly pass away each year. That means that some 240,000 people have already passed away without ever receiving any apology, any justice, or any compensation.

"It is also important to acknowledge that this was not solely an injustice inflicted upon them in the past, it is an enduring injustice impacting upon their daily lives”.

The UK Government was accused of failing to adequately inform those born in the 1950s about an increase in the entitlement age.

Figures compiled by the House of Commons Library in 2021 estimated that 355,910 Scottish women have been impacted by the WASPI pensions scandal.

It follows a report published last Thursday by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman found changes to the state pension age were not communicated adequately and those affected should receive an apology and compensation.

Asked about compensation on Sunday morning, the Chancellor claimed the issue highlighted by the Waspi campaign was “genuinely more complicated” than others in which compensation has been promised, like the infected blood disaster and the Post Office Horizon scandal.

Asked whether it was responsible for the Government to leave “huge unpaid bills” to the next parliament, he said: “We had the ombudsman’s report on Thursday, but we’ve also had a report from the High Court and Court of Appeal in 2020 that says the Department for Work and Pensions behaved completely within the law and didn’t discriminate.

“So it appears to say something different and we do need to get to the bottom of that apparent difference between the two.

“We want to resolve it as quickly as we can, but there’s no secret vault of money.

“The money we would pay in compensation has to come from other taxpayers, so we do have to take time to get this fair.”

However, Mr Hunt did pledge the triple lock for pensions will be included in the Tory election manifesto, suggesting the party was confident it would be able to pay for it.

The triple lock refers to the commitment to raise the state pension every year by wage growth, inflation or 2.5 per cent, whichever is highest.

Campaigners have demanded action over the report, warning Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will be on a “sticky wicket” seeking votes from Waspi women when he goes to the country later this year if he heeds the ombudsman’s findings.

But amid straitened public finances, politicians on both sides have shied away from commitments to payouts, with neither Labour nor the Tories having issued a formal response to Thursday’s report.

The PHSO suggested compensation could cost between £3.5 billion and £10.5 billion, although campaigners are pushing for a higher figure.

During the 2019 election campaign, Labour committed to a £58 billion compensation package for women affected by the pension age changes, which would have involved an average of £15,380 being paid to each of those affected.

However, Ms Dodds told BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme circumstances had changed.

She said: "Unfortunately Labour lost the last election, we did not win on the agenda that we set out to the public in 2019.

“Also circumstances have changed radically as well. None of us would have expected, sadly, the mess Liz Truss made of our economy, and the mess that continues to be made under Conservative led circumstances”.

Asked specifically, about compensation, Ms Dodds replied: “We need to see a response from the Government, that's what the Ombudsman has asked for, and above all we need to learn the lessons. I believe in the principle those women deserve respect, that's the most important thing. If i was to say, plucking out the air, how compensation should work, I don't think they would believe me.

"Viewers expect an opposition party, on an issue of this significance, to look at it really carefully”.