Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox
Get our free View from Westminster email
Get our free View from Westminster email
The government is facing fresh backlash after announcing that up to 3.8 million women will not receive compensation after being affected by changes to the state pension age.
Calls for women born in the 1950s – known as the Waspi women – to receive thousands in compensation have been rejected by work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall.
Ms Kendall insisted she was making the “right decision and the fair decision”, arguing the proposed compensation scheme “isn’t fair or value for taxpayers’ money”.
The rise in women’s state pension age from 60 to 65, as a result of the Pensions Act 1995, has sparked significant controversy after millions claim they were not properly informed and have been forced to change retirement plans.
Labour’s refusal of compensation comes despite the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) ruled that affected women were due due compensation of typically £1,000 to £2,950 each. The Lib Dems described the rejection as a “day of shame”.
It comes as Sir Keir Starmer prepares to face MPs at midday for the final Prime Minister’s Questions of the calendar year before parliament recess begins on Thursday.
Labour accused of betraying WASPI women to win election after compensation snub
The prime minister came under fire on Wednesday after work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall rejected calls for 3.8m affected individuals to be given £1,000 and £2,950 each in compensation.
Homelessness minister Rushanara Ali was sent out to defend the government’s decision, but faced a heated Sky News interview in which presenter Kay Burley said Labour had “made a promise time and time again” to affected women before the general election.
“And now you’ve literally said, ‘nah, sorry, it’s not happening’,” Ms Burley said.
Ms Ali repeated Ms Kendall’s apology on behalf of the government to women affected by the change, which hiked the state pension age from 60 to 65, with millions claiming they were not properly aware.
She said: “Lessons need to be learned for the future and I absolutely understand this is really, really difficult.
“We will need to make sure these things do not happen again.”
Read the full report from political correspondent Archie Mitchell:
Alex Croft18 December 2024 08:06
‘Day of shame’: Labour will not pay compensation to 3.8 million Waspi women, Liz Kendall announces
Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall rejected calls for individuals affected to be awarded between £1,000 and £2,950 each, while claiming she understood their unhappiness.
“I know there are women born in the 1950s who want and deserve a better life, they have worked hard in paid jobs and in bringing up their families,” she said.
She pledged the government would protect the pensions “triple lock”, drive down NHS waiting lists and deliver “the jobs, homes and opportunities your families need to build a better life”.
Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:
Kate Devlin, Whitehall Editor18 December 2024 07:50
Welcome to the live blog
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live politics blog.
We’ll bring you all the latest news and reaction, as the government faces backlash over the decision to refuse compensation for Waspi women, and inflation rises to 2.6 per cent.
Alex Croft18 December 2024 07:48
+ There are no comments
Add yours