Welcome to the WASPI Campaign 2018
Campaigning for fair and fast compensation for 1950s women
Campaigning for fair and fast compensation for 1950s women
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.
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.
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.
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
This table shows the position of the main parties as set out in their manifestos for the 4th July 2024 General Election.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.