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Welcome to the WASPI Campaign 2018

Welcome to the WASPI Campaign 2018Welcome to the WASPI Campaign 2018Welcome to the WASPI Campaign 2018

Campaigning for fair and fast compensation for 1950s women

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WHERE WE ARE NOW - 13TH MAY 2025

 

·  The Government’s refusal to consider compensation has resulted in anger and disappointment among our campaign supporters. 1950s women feel a profound sense of betrayal at the way in which they have been abandoned by politicians who supported them unequivocally when they were in opposition.

·  Many of our supporters have been Labour voters throughout their lives but have now told us that they can no longer vote for them, and in some cases have relinquished their membership of the party.

·  The picking apart of the PHSO’s report and the selective use of data to construct a spurious case against compensation are seen as particularly distasteful and extremely disrespectful both to 1950s women and to the principle of an independent Ombudsman.

·  Our supporters continue to lobby MPs in writing, in person and on social media, and send them regular copies of our bulletin, The Buzz. Over the last few months they have attended a number of public events, including those to mark International Women’s Day and International Workers Memorial Day.

·  Our future strategy will depend on whether the Judicial Review requested by our fellow campaigners goes ahead, and if so, on the result. However, there is no appetite for giving up the fight for justice.

SECOND WESTMINSTER HALL DEBATE SHOWS MORE STRONG CROSS-PARTY SUPPORT FOR WASPI

On 17 March MPs from all parties crowded into Westminster Hall to debate the issue of compensation for 1950s women once again. This debate was triggered by the recent petition which attracted over 160,000 signatures and was introduced by Dr Roz Savage, MP for the South Cotswolds.

Over 40 MPS, including 19 Labour MPs, spoke passionately and knowledgeably over a period of almost two and a half hours in support of our cause. Debates in Westminster Hall do not conclude with a vote, but Roz Savage summed up by saying “We have unanimously called on the Government to do the right thing morally, and what may turn out to be legally, in compensating the WASPI women for the injustice they have suffered. I commiserate with the Minister, who has been sent out to defend the indefensible.” This last sentence was a reference to Torsten Bell MP, the Pensions Minister, who had replied on behalf of the Government by repeating the same arguments that have been used on previous occasions. 

You can read a full transcript of the debate here:  

https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2025-03-17/debates/F7CE8F38-4762-43C3-AF9C-716F38D66A7A/Women%E2%80%99SChangedStatePensionAgeCompensation 


JUDICIAL REVIEW UPDATE

On 14 March our fellow campaigners at Women Against State Pension Inequality Ltd (https://www.waspi.co.uk) lodged papers with the High Court for a Judicial Review of the Government’s decision not to award compensation to 1950s women. The court has acknowledged receipt of the claim and WASPI now has seven days to ‘serve’ its claim against the government. Following this the government and other interested parties, including the Parliamentary Ombudsman, will have three weeks to submit their response.

A High Court judge will then decide if WASPI’s claim is strong enough to go ahead to a full Judicial Review.  If this succeeds, the Government would have to withdraw its decision to reject the Ombudsman’s recommendations and make a new, lawful decision about how to provide a remedy in line with the Ombudsman’s findings. There could however be a significant delay of many months before the outcome of any Judicial Review is known.

The legal action is being paid for by crowdfunding, which is well on the way to reaching its target of £180,000. For more about the legal case, the crowdfunding  or to make a donation visit

https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/waspijustice/


APPG’S LETTER TO THE CHANCELLOR AND THE WORK & PENSIONS SECRETARY

On 14 January the APPG on State Pension Inequalities for Women, one of the largest cross-party groups in Westminster, held a ‘packed and passionate’ meeting, to quote Chair Rebecca Long-Bailey, to discuss the Government’s refusal to pay compensation to 1950s women. Following the meeting, 45 members of the APPG signed a letter to Rachel Reeves and Liz Kendall outlining strong arguments why the Government should review its approach to the PHSO's report; requesting a meeting to discuss ways forward towards justice for 1950s women; and seeking time for a Parliamentary debate and vote on compensation. You can read their letter here: 


https://waspicampaign2018.co.uk/downloads 

SUPPORT FOR STEPHEN FLYNN'S TEN MINUTE RULE BILL

Stephen Flynn, Leader of the SNP, successfully secured a first reading via the Ten Minute Rule for his bill entitled “Women’s State Pension Age (Ombudsman Report and Compensation Scheme)”, which requires ministers to draw up a compensation scheme for 1950s women. The Bill was passed in the House of Commons on 28 January 2025 by 105 votes, with no MPs voting against it. You can read Stephen Flynn’s speech here: 


https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2025-01-28/debates/F169E299-6E75-4F11-A179-92A34429F462/Women%E2%80%99SStatePensionAge(OmbudsmanReportAndCompensationScheme). 


The second reading is scheduled for 7 March. 

WESTMINSTER HALL DEBATE SHOWS STRONG CROSS-PARTY SUPPORT FOR WASPI

A Westminster Hall debate on compensation for WASPI women was held on 15 January 2025, sponsored by Sir John Hayes, the Conservative MP for South Holland and the Deepings. Over 70 MPs attended and the debate was, in the words of the Chair, “massively oversubscribed”. Almost 40 MPs from all the major parties spoke passionately in support of our cause. Debates in Westminster Hall do not conclude with a vote, but Sir John Hayes summed up the mood of the meeting by saying in conclusion “This is deceit - nothing less, nothing more.” Torsten Bell MP, newly appointed as Pensions Minister the day before the debate, replied on behalf of the Government. He repeated almost word for word the statements previously made by Liz Kendall and others, adding that the Labour Party manifesto “did not promise to provide compensation … there was a clear choice not to make that promise in the manifesto.” 

You can read a full transcript of the debate here:  

https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2025-01-15/debates/CE16DE19-3F62-43A9-8164-09C41D9AB17D/Women%E2%80%99SChangedStatePensionAgeCompensation 

GOVERNMENT REFUSES COMPENSATION FOR 1950S WOMEN

On 17 December 2024 the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Liz Kendall, delivered a speech to Parliament giving the Government’s response to the Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman’s investigation into the communication by the Department for Work & Pensions of the changes to the State Pension age of women born in the 1950s. The Ombudsman’s investigation, published in March 2024, had found that women born in the 1950s had suffered injustice because of the DWP’s maladministration, and recommended a modest amount of compensation.

The Minister issued an apology for maladministration, but made it clear that the Government were in fundamental disagreement with the Ombudsman’s approach both to the injustice suffered and the proposed remedy. As a result, they concluded that there should be no scheme of financial compensation for 1950s-born women. You can read the full text of the Minister’s statement here: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/government-response-to-parliamentary-and-health-service-ombudsman-phso-report.

The Government have therefore rejected the Ombudsman’s recommendations in a number of important ways:


1.  They have rejected the Ombudsman’s interpretation of the facts;


2.  They have rejected the Ombudsman’s recommendation that financial compensation should be paid to 1950s women;


3.  They have denied the Ombudsman’s request that the report be laid before Parliament.


The rejection of the Ombudsman’s recommendations is a serious matter. Normally, over 99% of compensation recommendations made by the Ombudsman are complied with (see https://essexcaji.org/2021/11/16/financial-remedy-recommendations-made-by-the-parliamentary-and-health-service-ombudsman). The Ombudsman foresaw that the DWP was unlikely to accept the report’s findings, which is why they took the “rare but necessary step” of asking Parliament to intervene.  You can see the Ombudsman’s views on the Government’s decision here: https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/news-and-blog/blog/governments-response-our-dwp-investigation-reflections-ombudsman. 


We therefore call upon MPs to demand the right for Parliament to resolve this matter and to vote on the issue of compensation.

WASPI PETITION REACHES OVER 100,000 SIGNATURES

Thank you to everyone who signed and shared the petition calling for a compensation scheme for 1950s women to be set up. We are delighted to report that it reached 100,000 signatures in just over a week! This means the Government will have to consider calling a Parliamentary debate on this matter which should progress our cause.


It’s not too late to sign the petition: Introduce a compensation scheme for WASPI women - Petitions


You don’t have to be a WASPI woman to sign – just someone who believes that 1950s women should get compensation for the injustice we experienced, as recommended by the Ombudsman in March 2024.

WASPI 2018 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2024

The WASPI 2018 Annual General Meeting was held online on 12 September 2024. The guest speaker was Rebecca Long-Bailey MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on State Pension Inequality for Women, and long-time supporter of our campaign.

Rebecca thanked everyone for their work on behalf of the campaign. During the past year the Ombudsman’s final report had been published and there had been a change of Government, but there was still no resolution for 1950s women. The report – which was placed directly before Parliament –- vindicated our campaign and recommended compensation. However Labour had not mentioned compensation in their manifesto, and more than five months after winning the general election they were still “considering” the report.

Rebecca reported that the APPG had been reconstituted with many new and enthusiastic members. It aims to mobilise enough support from MPs to convince the Government to take action. The Chair of the Work & Pensions Select Committee had agreed to meet with them, but they were still waiting for a response from the Pensions Minister on the Government’s plans; and despite intense lobbying from supportive MPs, nothing about compensation for 1950s women had been included in the recent budget. 

Rebecca  advised the campaign to keep up the pressure on MPs and praised the BUZZ, our regular bulletin for MPs which is sent to them by constituents, as an effective vehicle for doing this.


WASPI Chair Hilary Simpson presented the Annual Report, which was accepted https://waspicampaign2018.co.uk/downloads


She agreed that the two most significant events of the past year were the publication of the Ombudsman's final report in March and the election of the new Government in July. She was pleased to have met the Pensions Minister in early September but disappointed that there had been no statement from the Government since, other than to say that they would respond ‘as soon as humanly possible’.

Media coverage of the Ombudsman’s report had been widespread and had stayed at a high level since. Campaign supporters had lobbied the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool and attended the Budget Day demonstration at Westminster on 30 October. Our biggest innovation this year had been the creation of the WASPI Swarm, a network of over 600 supporters who send the BUZZ to their MP every month, covering well over 50% of constituencies. Our social media statistics continue to grow, with the social media team working hard on our behalf. 

Hilary thanked the Steering Group and local group co-ordinators for their work and commitment over the past year. She promised that the campaign would continue and hoped that real progress towards a compensation scheme for 1950s women would be achieved in the months to come.


A new Steering Group was elected  https://waspicampaign2018.co.uk/steering-group

Rebecca Long-Bailey MP 

CHAIR of All-Party Parliamentary Group on State Pension Inequality for Women

NATIONAL WASPI RALLY BUDGET DAY 30TH OCTOBER 2024

RECORD NUMBER OF MPS ATTEND WASPI WESTMINSTER SESSION - 11th September 2024

1950s born women flocked from all over the UK to a rally outside Parliament on Budget Day 30th October to promote their claim for compensation. Despite WASPI representatives meeting with Emma Reynolds, Under-Secretary of State for Pensions on 5th September, the Government has not yet responded to the report of the Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman of 21st March which stated that women born in the 1950s were due compensation for the lack of notice they were given by successive governments that their state pensions had been delayed by several years

A minute’s silence was held for the thousands of WASPI women who have died.

WASPI National Chair Hilary Simpson said: “Another Budget Day has come and gone with no news of compensation for 1950s women. It’s now over seven months since the Ombudsman published his recommendations. the Government must treat this as a matter of urgency; a WASPI woman is dying every 13 minutes.”

The women heard speeches of support from Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey, John McDonnell MP, Richard Burgon MP, Lord Bryn Davies (co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Women’s State Pension Inequality) and Jan Shortt, General Secretary of the National Pensioners’ Convention.

RECORD NUMBER OF MPS ATTEND WASPI WESTMINSTER SESSION - 11th September 2024

RECORD NUMBER OF MPS ATTEND WASPI WESTMINSTER SESSION - 11th September 2024

Over 150 MPs attended a WASPI Drop-In information session at Westminster on 11th September. 

“We were delighted to be able to speak to the MPs individually, answer their questions and make sure they are fully aware of the need for progress to be made on compensation as quickly as possible following the publication of the Ombudsman’s report almost six months ago,” said WASPI Chair Hilary Simpson.

“There are over 5,000 1950s women in the average constituency. It’s good that these MPs want to support them.”

The majority of MPs had their photographs taken with WASPI ‘pledges’ supporting the campaign for fair and fast compensation. 

You can see if your MP attended here.

MPs WAspi drop-in

WASPI REPRESENTATIVES MEET PENSIONS MINISTER – 5TH SEPTEMBER 2024

WASPI REPRESENTATIVES MEET PENSIONS MINISTER – 5TH SEPTEMBER 2024

Representatives of both WASPI Campaigns were pleased to meet Emma Reynolds, Under-Secretary of State for Pensions, on 5th September. “We were able to question the Minister and clarified our ‘Ask’ for fair and fast compensation for 1950s women as recommended by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman” said WASPI 2018 Chair Hilary Simpson. “This is the first time WASPI representatives have had a face-to-face meeting with a Pensions Minister since 2016 so it’s definitely a step in the right direction.”

A WASPI Drop-In information session for MPs will take place at Westminster on 11th September.

! SCAM ALERT !

WASPI REPRESENTATIVES MEET PENSIONS MINISTER – 5TH SEPTEMBER 2024

There are several scam websites going around at the moment pretending to provide compensation claim forms for WASPI women.


PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THESE - THEY ARE PHISHING FOR YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION.
No compensation or compensation scheme has yet been agreed, unfortunately.


If you have given your personal data to a potentially fraudulent website please contact Action Fraud. https://www.actionfraud.police.uk 


PARTY MANIFESTOS - GENERAL ELECTION - 4TH JULY 2024

This table shows the position of the main parties as set out in their manifestos for the 4th July 2024 General Election.

Public opinion supports compensation for 1950s women


A public opinion survey of over 2,000 adults undertaken for our sister organisation Women Against State Pension Inequality between the 3rd and 5th May 2024 revealed a high level of support for 1950s women’s call for compensation.

68% of respondents agreed that:

1) The Government should accept the conclusions of the Ombudsman’s investigation;

2) WASPI women have been badly let down by successive governments and the current government should have resolved this issue now;

3) WASPI women have waited too long for a resolution to the injustice they suffered.

Only 14% trusted Rishi Sunak to deliver fair and fast compensation for WASPI women and only 24% trusted Keir Starmer.


21st March - Ombudsman's - Final Report Published

The WASPI Campaign 2018 welcomes the Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman’s findings that maladministration by the Department for Work & Pensions in the way it handled the communication of changes to women’s State Pension age resulted in injustice, and that compensation should be paid to the women affected.

We find it scandalous that the Department has refused to accept that maladministration occurred or engage in discussions on compensation, and on that basis we acknowledge that the Ombudsman has no choice but to take what they describe as the “rare” decision to refer the issue directly to Parliament.

We would however take issue with the Ombudsman’s suggestion that the appropriate level of compensation would be Level 4 on the Severity of Injustice Scale (ie £1,000 – £2,950) and will be urging Parliament to look at a higher level of compensation that is both fair and fast to implement.

We expect all political parties to make a clear statement of their position on this issue after considering the Ombudsman’s report.  WASPI women need to know where the main parties stand.

Ombudsman's Final Report

WE NEED YOUR HELP - JOIN THE WASPI SWARM!

We continue to look for volunteers to email a copy of The WASPI BUZZ, our update for MPs, after the General Election, when new MPs will be in place. Parliament will be dissolved on May 30th so there will be no MPs but only Candidates.


If you’d like to volunteer, please email waspigroupnetwork@gmail.com with

1. your name

2. your email address

3. the name of your constituency (Please check boundary changes)


After the election, when our next issue of The BUZZ  is ready, we will email it to you with instructions of how to forward it to your MP. 

Thank you for your help.

DONATE

The WASPI Campaign 2018 is run by volunteers who give their time freely to fight for and on behalf of 3.8 million women who have been affected by the changes to our State Pension Age.  

Help WASPI 2018 Fight for Justice

You can make a donation via a bank transfer to the Waspi Campaign 2018:


Name of Bank: Barclays

Account name: WASPI CAMPAIGN 2018

Sort Code: 20-55-41

Account No: 40052590

Reference: Donation


These funds will go directly to the WASPI Campaign 2018 and will be used to promote the campaign nationwide.


Your donation will also help with running costs which we will, of course, keep to a minimum.


All donations, however big or small, are most gratefully received and will help us to continue our campaign to achieve justice for all the women affected.

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