Labour is accused of abandoning women who were not properly informed of pension changes.
Angela Madden, who chairs Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) (Image: PA)
Lawyers representing the so-called WASPI women are launching a new bid to win compensation for women affected by the hike in the state pension age. Labour announced in January they would not receive cash but campaigners insist around 3.5 million women were not properly informed of the decision to bring their pension age in line with men’s.
The legal team representing Women Against State Pension Inequality will raise “legal errors” with the Government and will give its lawyers 14 days to respond. They are prepared to take their battle to the High Court.
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has recommended payouts of between £1,000 and £2,950 for each of those affected.
Angela Madden, who chairs the campaign, said: “The Government has had the opportunity to do the right thing for WASPI women.
“Instead, they have made a political choice to ignore well established democratic processes, which is irrational, unfair and risks alienating even more voters.
“Women affected by the Government’s failures have waited long enough. If ministers will not listen to the independent ombudsman, their own MPs and millions of people across the country, we will make them listen in court.”
The ‘WASPI women’ are not about to abandon their battle (Image: SIPA USA/PA Images)
A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said: “The Secretary of State set out the Government’s position in his oral statement to Parliament, including acceptance of maladministration and apology to the women affected.
“Our focus now is on delivering an action plan to implement lessons learned in how DWP communicates state pension matters going forward.”
Helen Whately, the Conservatives‘ Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, said: “Labour campaigned on WASPI compensation, posed for the photos, signed the pledges, told women they stood shoulder to shoulder with them.
“Keir Starmer and his frontbench used WASPI women as a political prop to win votes and moral authority. Now they are in Government, those promises have been betrayed, like so many others that Labour promised the world to.
“This episode exposes a deeper problem with this Government. Labour is happy to say one thing when it suits them, but once the election is over, it becomes clear their promises aren’t worth the paper they are written on. It is cynical politics at its very worst.”