Latest news with #WASPI
Daily Record
4 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Record
New WASPI online map shows position of every MP on State Pension age change compensation
New research from the WASPI campaign finds 134 MPs who previously backed compensation, no longer do so. A new interactive tool launched by the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign shows the UK-wide state of play of MP support for a compensation scheme for millions of women affected by changes to their retirement age. The new analysis shows 179 MPs have publicly blasted the UK Government's decision not to compensate WASPI women in recent months. WASPI said that of these, 56 Labour MPs have openly criticised Downing Street's failure to deliver justice, while dozens more are thought to be supportive behind the scenes, including several senior ministers. The map shows how smaller parties are almost unanimous in their support, with a strong coalition of Liberal Democrat, Reform UK, SNP, Green, Plaid Cymru and DUP MPs backing calls to compensate WASPI women. The smaller parties are almost unanimous in their support, with a strong coalition of Liberal Democrat, Reform UK, SNP, Green, Plaid Cymru and DUP MPs backing calls to compensate WASPI women. Around a dozen Conservative MPs have also recently reaffirmed their support for compensation. The findings come at the launch of WASPI's new website, which has new resources to enable supporters to write to their MP and join the campaign for as little as £15 per year. Some of the strongest advocates for WASPI women include members of the State Pension Inequality for Women APPG, chaired by Labour MP Rebecca Long-Bailey. The cross-party group of MPs is one of the largest in Parliament and includes representatives from across the major political parties who have vowed to continue the fight for justice. However, WASPI campaigners say 134 MPs previously backed calls for compensation but have failed to reaffirm their support since the Labour Government's announcement in December. The figures do not include serving government ministers or whips, at least 80 of whom have previously pledged their support for the campaign. Angela Madden, Chair of Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI), said: 'The Government's refusal to compensate WASPI women, despite admitting wrongdoing, is a national scandal. 'We know hundreds of principled MPs are still resolute in their support for those affected and firmly disagree with the decision taken by the Labour leadership. 'While some appear to have given up on us, abandoning the vulnerable women they once promised to fight for, it is clear that a majority of MPs know deep down that compensating WASPI women is the right thing to do.' With a High Court challenge into the UK Government's decision under consideration and a key vote on proposed disability benefit cuts due this month, it is thought more Labour MPs could soon speak out. In December, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall stunned MPs when she apologised for the failures made by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), but stopped short of announcing plans for a compensation scheme. Campaigners say the failure of the Labour and Conservative leadership to back WASPI compensation has boosted support for the Liberal Democrats and Reform UK, as well as the Greens in urban areas, south of the border. It is thought both Plaid Cymru and the SNP could benefit from their strong support for WASPI women at next year's elections in Cardiff and Holyrood. All MPs' positions on compensation can be found on WASPI's interactive 'state of the nation' map, alongside new campaign resources, here.
The Sun
25-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Is there anything Keir Starmer won't U-turn on? If voters don't like his principles, no problem, he just changes them
SO taxes are going up then . . . After a week of dithering from Downing Street, that was the only clear message sent out by our Groucho Marx Prime Minister. 3 3 'Those are my principles, and if you don't like them . . . well, I have others.' Farewell, then, cuts to winter fuel payments, blowing yet another hole in Rachel Reeves' sums and diminishing credibility as Chancellor. In a spectacular self-sabotage, the Government has taken the hit, upset everyone, burnt its trust with the public and now won't even get the savings and the confidence from the markets that were meant to see responsible grown-ups in charge. But should we really be surprised any more? The U-turn can be added to a very long and rapidly growing list of Sir Keir Starmer's flip-floppery. And it won't be the last. He was going to abolish university tuition fees, until he didn't. Same for Universal Credit and the House of Lords, along with nationalising water and energy and mail. Causing carnage All detention centres were going to be shut and deportation flights injuncted by his lawyer mates — now hardman Keir boasts how many foreigners he's kicked out. Women could have a willy, until a court made clear of course they bleedin' can't. There was £28billion for green investment, until that was put on the bonfire. The Waspi women were going to get billions in compensation, until they didn't. Meanwhile, employers' National Insurance wasn't going up and farmers were not going to be ruined by tax hikes, until it did and they were. Don't even get me started on the PM's years of Remainer sabotage, second referendum baiting and heartfelt longing to rejoin the EU, only to insist that there would be no unpicking of the referendum result and we're all Team Brexit now. And lo, last week he hands Brussels the crown jewels in return for a non-binding watery bit of paper announced with great fanfare that would see the UK become an EU rule taker and open up our borders and wallets again in return for, well, not very much. Keep up! With the winter fuel climbdown banked, panicking Labour MPs now have the two-child benefit cap on their U-turn shopping list. Add to that their militant organising to soften No10's already fairly menial cuts to the benefits bill (on course to hit £100billion a year by the end of the decade) and you have what Labour love to call a giant black hole in the public finances. With every humiliating forced backtrack, Rachel Reeves' job gets harder and harder. Borrow more or raise taxes? Probably both if her last Budget was anything to go by. It's pretty clear now why the PM conducted another, much quieter, U-turn behind the scenes in recent weeks and delayed a reshuffle mooted for this side of the summer hols. It's far from clear how he is going to have a Chancellor by Christmas. Having staked her reputation in No11 on keeping to her fiscal rules not to increase borrowing for day-to-day spending, and having already hiked taxes to their highest burden in history, Reeves is running out of road. 'A Prime Minister just making it up as he goes along . . . they have lurched from crisis to crisis, U-turn to U-turn.' Not my words, but the words of Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs a few years ago You wonder how long Starmer will continue to insist you cannot get a cigarette paper between the two of them, and force the most humiliating U-turn yet. Few in Westminster believe Reeves could scrap those 'iron' rules and credibly keep that job. However, given Starmer has effectively outsourced his entire economic policy to her, the blow back will be on him too. No wonder butter-wouldn't- melt-in-her-mouth Deputy PM Angela Rayner is causing carnage behind the scenes. Mystery memos showing ankle to the Labour left and doe-eyed denials on TV that she ever wants to be PM . . . right on cue. So with all this chaos, you would have thought the Tories would be delighted. Only the Shadow Cabinet spent their Bank Holiday Weekend texting each other and half of Westminster loudly wondering if they might have to do something sooner rather than later about Kemi Badenoch. Big barn door Ironically, she could well be collateral damage in the winter fuel mess, after managing to miss the announcement at the top of Prime Minister's Questions last week, only to ask whether the PM would U-turn ten minutes later. Tory MPs are incandescent that she missed such a big barn door. Some very senior Conservatives say Badenoch's fate was sealed in that bungle, and it's now when not if they join in the U-turn action and have another go at choosing a leader after just nine months. 'A Prime Minister just making it up as he goes along . . . they have lurched from crisis to crisis, U-turn to U-turn.' Not my words, but the words of Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs a few years ago when he was the one asking the questions. A nimble, canny and competent Leader of the Opposition would have had that quote up her sleeve for a moment just like Wednesday's winter fuel mess. Sadly, we are not blessed as a nation with one of those. THE House of Lords is not a happy ship. Old timers complain that the usually genial upper chamber has been so stuffed with bruiser ex-MPs it's killing the vibe. Meanwhile, Labour's plan to boot out anyone over 80 is causing major disquiet in their own ranks as experts such as celeb scientist Robert Winston face the axe. And I hear a deal may be done with the last remaining hereditary peers, who want to be slowly abolished one at a time by nature's pruning shears rather than forced to retire all in one go. Tea cups rattling all round. KEMI Badenoch's curious private chauffeur contract as a Cabinet minister is under the spotlight as her enemies circle. But relations with the famously tight-knit Government Car Service have not improved since she left office. One of the few perks of being Leader of the Opposition is a driver from the official ministerial pool and £65,000 blacked-out Land Rover Discovery Sport on the taxpayer. Assigned a popular female member of the chauffeuring team when she got the job, mysteriously a replacement was quickly sought after just a matter of weeks. And according to my peak cap-wearing mole, Badenoch has now asked for a vehicle 'more befitting a future PM'. The Cabinet Office, which runs the service, declined to comment on whether they would be granting her an upgrade. A Conservative spokesman insisted they 'do not recognise these claims'.
Business Mayor
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Mayor
MPs fear 'repeat of WASPI scandal' as many state pensioners don't know key rule
MPs have raised concerns that there could be a repeat of the WASPI scandal as many people do not know about an important restriction on the state pension increase. The WASPI (Women Against State Pension Inequality) dispute revolves around the increase in the state pension age from 60 to 65 and then 66 for women born in the 1950s. The campaigners claim they were not properly informed of the change by the DWP, with many unaware they would have to wait several more years to claim their state pension, ruining their retirement plans. They are currently continuing their fight for compensation, despite the Government saying at the end of last year that there would be no payouts. WASPI has applied to the high court for a judicial review of the Government's decision. Now MPs have raised concerns that many state pensioners are unaware of another important rule that could affect their payments. A debate was held in Westminster Hall about changing the 'frozen state pension' policy, as over 400,000 state pensioners living abroad in certain countries do not get the triple lock increase. For your payments to go up each April, you need to live in the UK or in a country that has a social security agreement with the UK, while people on countries like Canada and New Zealand do not get a rates increase, with their payments frozen at the level at which they were when they moved to the relevant country. Speaking during the debate, Liberal Democrat MP Rachel Gilmour called attention to the importance of state pensioners knowing how the system works. She said: 'People who receive a pension income have worked throughout their careers for that money, and they deserve to be able to access it fairly and with the proper information, lest we see a repeat of the WASPI scandal.' Conservative MP Gregory Stafford presented the debate in Parliament, and he also called attention to the plight of the WASPI women. He said: 'Only this year, we saw continued poor treatment through policies such as the removal of the Winter Fuel Payment and the betrayal of the WASPI women, both causes that were vociferously supported by the Labour Party in opposition. Labour is happy to freeze pensioners and happy to freeze their pensions.' DUP MP Jim Shannon also drew a connection between the general lack of knowledge of the frozen pension policy and the WASPI dispute. He warned: 'The widespread lack of transparency is reminiscent of the lack of transparency with WASPI women. The all-party parliamentary group on frozen British pensions has reported that nearly 90% of all affected pensioners were unaware of the policy before moving.' Conservative MP Rebecca Smith also urged the Government to make sure people know about the rules and mentioned the WASPI issue. She said: 'The Government need to make sure they properly communicate pension terms to people well ahead of the time they expect receive a state pension. We have seen in the WASPI women campaign the issues that can be caused, and I believe that no one wants to replicate that.' Pensions minister Torsten Bell stood up to provide a Government response to the debate, and to explain the thinking behind its current policy. He said there would be large costs involved in uprating state pension rates for all those living abroad, adding that this would involve tax rises to pay for. He explained: 'The UK Government's position under all parties is that we are not in the business of new reciprocal arrangements, with any countries. 'The only recent agreements have been the rolled-over agreements with the EU and the EEA, agreed by the previous Conservative Government, but that was to maintain the existing social security arrangements.' The minister also referred to the WASPI campaign in his response: 'I gently note—very gently, so that I get out of this room safely—that many of the people calling for pensions to be uprated are also calling for reverses to the Winter Fuel Payment policy and compensation for WASPI women, but are not calling for less investment in the NHS or higher taxes. 'In the current financial climate, there are real choices, and there have been no suggestions in this debate about how any of these policies would be funded.' READ SOURCE
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Rising state pension age 'helps women maintain brain function and avoid disability in their 60s'
Retiring later can help women maintain brain function and prevent disability, according to a study. Research by the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) found the effect was particularly pronounced for those who were single or had active jobs. However, hanging on longer in sedentary work can be 'actively harmful' for physical mobility. The paper, published in the Labour Economic Journal, considered the impact of the government continuing to push up the state pension age. That has led to some people delaying retirement and remaining in paid work for longer - with so-called 'WASPI' women furious that they were not given adequate warning. The team investigated the increase in employment of women aged 60–63 between 2010 and 2017 in England. Using data from a long-term survey, they concluded that working longer 'substantially' boosted performance on two cognitive tests. The survey featured people being read 10 words and asked to repeat them immediately, and then again five minutes later. On the 'immediate' test working women were found to remember 0.4 to 0.7 extra words, while for the delayed test it was 1.4 to 1.7 additional words The IFS said the effect was more pronounced for single women, which was 'consistent' with work being an 'important source of social interactions'. There were also 'large' improvements in measures of physical disability, with walking speeds higher and lower reports of mobility problems. But the report stressed that the effects depended heavily on the kinds of work women undertook, with sedentary occupations seen to reduce walking speed. David Sturrock, Associate Director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies and an author of the research, said: 'The government continues to increase the state pension age, with an increase from 66 to 67 starting in April next year. 'As a result, many people face a longer working life. While increasing the state pension age reduces state pension spending, thought needs to be given to the effect that later retirement can have on people's health. 'Our research shows that paid work can help to maintain cognitive functioning and physical mobility. 'This is particularly true for single women and those whose jobs involve some amount of movement. 'However, not all work is beneficial, with sedentary jobs being actively harmful for physical mobility. 'Whether longer working is good for health also depends on what people will do once they retire – if the government wants to promote health at older ages then encouraging social interaction and physical exercise among retirees would also be beneficial.'
Daily Mirror
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
EMMA LEWELL: 'Labour doesn't need to be welded to a plan for change - we need a change of plan'
Trust matters. The Tories made promises to the public and never delivered on them. Years of austerity laid waste to communities up and down the country. The public made their feelings known at last years General Election and this weeks' local elections. They are increasingly looking like a spent force in British politics. Labour was elected on the promise that we would be committed to serving the public and in doing so improve their lives. Within months of that General Election there was the 'freebies' scandal and the removal of winter fuel from millions of pensioners. We spent a decade telling the WASPI women we supported them, then decided they didn't deserve compensation. Now disabled people are terrified that they are going to lose PIP. The Hillsborough Law is yet to materialise, the sub-postmasters and infected blood scandal victims are still fighting for compensation and the nuclear veterans still don't have justice. Our new deal for workers, decisive action to save British steel, improvements to the NHS, efforts to tackle immigration and so much more are being overshadowed by these decisions. Being in Government can be unpopular but choices have been made that weren't needed, choices that will make little difference to the dire economic inheritance we were left with but have cost us at the ballot box. There is a deep disconnect with the public and a growing sense that the two main parties just don't get it. That is why across the country people are seeking alternatives. The Labour Party doesn't need to lurch right or left, we need to do what we say we will do and do it in line with our core values and principles of social justice and fairness. Strong governments listen to the public and their MPs who are telling them they are making grave mistakes. Strong governments welcome dissent and robust challenge. Strong governments admit mistakes and change. We don't need to be welded to a plan for change that has been so roundly rejected this week by the public, what we need is a change of plan.
