Constituents continue to contact me asking to make sure the government reverses its decision to not award compensation to women impacted by changes to the state pension age. As expressed in my previous statement, I am deeply disappointed with the way the Government’s has handled this issue.
Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the Women’s State Pension Age: Financial Redress debate on 3 July 2025, however, I have repeatedly called out the Government's unfair approach to pensioners, arguing against their cut to the Winter Fuel Payment which I am glad to see has now been reversed.
You may be interested to read the debate transcript - I was particularly interested to read what the Minister responding had to say, as I’m sure you will be. The link to the debate can be found here:
Women’s State Pension Age: Financial Redress - Hansard - UK Parliament
To govern is to choose, and the duplicity shown by Members of Parliament on the Government benches - who time and again in Opposition said that they supported the WASPI women and their campaign only to abandon them as soon as they were elected – is appalling. The decision to provide no compensation is this Labour Government’s decision, and they need to own it. Whilst I understand the cost implications involved in any decision on state pension age, I am most frustrated by the hypocrisy of those on the Government’s benches and their persistent attacks on pensioners.
There are 3.8 million women of pension age impacted by this announcement, all the while the Labour Government continues to fail pensioners across the board. Despite their recent U-Turn on the Winter Fuel Payment, we should never forget their callous cut which saw 94,760 additional pensioners attend A&E Departments in Winter 2024 compared with the previous year. The Government is flailing and millions of pensioners and WASPI women will feel more anxious as we await further policy announcements from Ministers.
In terms of the recent report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, the previous Government decided to take some time to find the best possible solution for all involved, especially those WASPI women facing the most hardship. Whilst it was not possible for a decision to be made ahead of the 2024 General Election, honesty has an important role in the public policy process and that is why in Government we were always cautious when making promises to WASPI women. Undoubtedly, this Labour Government, with its successive pronouncements of support for WASPI campaigners, has fallen short of the mark.
Whilst it is not always easy to make decisions, elected Members of Parliament should always start from a position of good faith with their electorates. Overpromising and then going back on your word helps nobody. I will endeavour to use whatever opportunities are available to me in Parliament to support measures which improve the financial circumstances of all pensioners and will resist any efforts by the Government to further erode hard-won benefits, like the Winter Fuel Allowance and Triple Lock, which have done so much to lift pensioners out of poverty in recent years.
I understand the legal action has progressed and dates provided for the case to be heard at the High Court in December 2025 with a final decision anticipated in Spring 2026.
