What Shadow Cabinet thinks about a deal for Waspi women
Shadow Cabinet ministers who previously backed helping millions of women who lost out over the state pension age have refused to repeat their support.
At least 12 senior Labour ministers, including Sir Keir Starmer, have expressed support in the past for so-called Waspi women, while calling for “justice”, a “fair pensions deal” and “restitution” among other messages of solidarity. But they have refused to repeat their support after major report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) found that the Department for Work and Pensions had failed to communicate the change in the state pension age and called on ministers to compensate the 3.8 million women affected, which could cost between £3.5bn and £10.5bn.
Neither the Labour Party, which could take power at a general election this year, nor the Conservative government were willing to commit to compensating the women in the wake of the report being published.
Only two of the 12 shadow ministers – Sir Keir and Emily Thornberry – gave personal responses on the issue.
The other 10 did not respond to i’s questions about whether they would back compensation given their past comments, with some pointing to a statement from a Labour spokesman who promised that the party would give the report “serious consideration” .
Here is what the Shadow Cabinet members said about Waspi women:
Sir Keir Starmer
November 2019 The Labour leader, while shadow Brexit secretary, called for an end to the “historic injustice” faced by Waspi women. Thursday: “We’re going to have to look carefully at that report.”
Emily Thornberry
June 2017 Ms Thornberry, now the shadow Attorney General, said: “To tackle this injustice, Labour will
extend pension credit to help those who are due to retire before the Tories’ chaotic changes.”
Yesterday: The shadow Attorney General told Sky News that Labour would not make any commitments until the Government had put forward its own response.
A source close to Ms Thornberry added that the Government should not “pass the buck” and must take “immediate action” given Waspi women’s demand for a “fast and fair response” to the report.
Yvette Cooper
October 2019: The current shadow Home Secretary said: “Waspi women need a fair pensions deal.”
Angela Rayner
July 2021 The deputy Labour leader said: “Solidarity with the Waspi women today and always. We need justice for the mistreatment they have suffered at the hands of the Government.”
Wes Streeting
May 2017 The shadow Health Secretary said: “Last week I wrote to thousands of women in Ilford North to pledge my support for the Waspi campaign and today I’ve signed the #Waspipledge.”
Ed Miliband
October 2019 The shadow Energy Secretary said: “Women who were born in the 1950s have had an incredibly raw deal. I have signed EDM 2296 which acknowledges this and calls on the Government to enact temporary measures to provide restitution to women.”
Nick Thomas-Symonds
July 2017 The shadow minister without portfolio said: “The situation has been going on for so long, and the Government are doing nothing.”
Liz Kendall
October 2019 The shadow Work and Pensions Secretary said: “I have been a long-standing supporter of the Waspi campaign.”
Louise Haigh
November 2019 The shadow Transport Secretary said: “I consistently spoke up for the Waspi women who’ve had their state pensions delayed. I will continue to speak up for the Waspi women who have been so badly let down.”
Lisa Nandy (inset)
August 2021 The shadow International Development Minister said: “I have been raising the concerns of the Waspi women with the Government for years now, urging them to acknowledge that Waspi women were disproportionately affected by changes to the state pension age, to accept that serious mistakes were made in how the changes were communicated and to ensure that help is given to those who face hardship because of these errors.”
Anneliese Dodds
December 2019 The Labour Party chairman told the Oxford Mail in a survey of all election candidates: “For those who are already retired, we would work against pensioner poverty, compensating Waspigeneration women.”