THOUSANDS of women affected by State Pension age changes gathered outside Parliament today, with their chants heard inside the House of Commons chamber.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey and Green co-leader Carla Denyer are joining other senior MPs in backing WASPI’s calls for fair and fast compensation.
More than three million women born in the 1950s were impacted by substantial increases to their State Pension age, leaving tens of thousands struggling to make ends meet.
In March 2024, the Parliamentary Ombudsman released its findings, ordering ministers to urgently pay compensation.
Despite growing calls to action, Chancellor Rachel Reeves made no commitment to compensating those affected when delivering her Budget to MPs today.
Earlier this month, ministers said they were still considering the findings of the report and repeatedly refused to set out a timeline to respond to the report.
However, since the report was released nearly 25,000 women have died waiting for a government response to this injustice.
With the support of opposition parties and hundreds of Labour and Conservative MPs, WASPI campaigners are urging ministers to bring forward proposals for fair and fast compensation.
Chants from WASPI women demonstrators could be heard in the House of Commons chamber in the run up to the Chancellor’s Budget.
Angela Madden, Chair of Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI), said:
“Millions of women’s retirement plans were thrown into chaos, many suffering extreme financial and mental hardships and this is why we are here today.
“Affected women have been vindicated by the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s report, parliament must compensate all affected women, yet months on we’re yet to receive an official response from the Labour party.
“With one affected woman dying every 13 minutes, we cannot continue to be patient. There are hundreds of MPs from across the House backing fair and fast compensation, now Ministers must deliver.”
Sir Ed Davey MP, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said:
“The Liberal Democrats have long supported fair and fast compensation for WASPI women, and we will continue to advocate for the millions of women across the country awaiting justice.
“In the absence of a commitment to compensation from the Chancellor today, ministers must urgently implement the findings of the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s without further delay.”
