I have been contacted by many constituents imploring me to make sure the government reverses its decision to not award compensation to women impacted by changes to the state pension age. As expressed in my previous statement, I am deeply disappointed with the way the Government’s has handled this issue.
To govern is to choose, and the duplicity shown by Members of Parliament on the Government benches - who time and again in Opposition said that they supported the WASPI women and their campaign only to abandon them as soon as they were elected – is appalling.
The decision to provide no compensation is the Government’s decision, and they need to own it. They should not try to undervalue the impact of their decision by referencing fictional black holes in the public finances, when all prospective governments are aware of the financial position our country faces through various public sources, including the Office for Budget Responsibility. Any additional pressures this Government faces are a result of their own decisions whilst in Government. It is not fair to try and dodge responsibility by suggesting to WASPI women that, if times were different, the Government might have come to a different conclusion. Government compensation should always be based on what is fair and just.
The Chief Executive of the ombudsman set out that when we were in Government, the Department for Work and Pensions fully co-operated with the ombudsman through its investigation and provided thousands of pages of detailed evidence to support it. It is because we took the work of the ombudsman so seriously that it was right for the then-Government to fully and properly consider the findings, and we were committed to working with Parliament to provide an appropriate and swift response.
It has taken the Labour Government five months to reach a decision, which I believe supports the previous Government’s stance that proper time and consideration had to be given to the ombudsman’s report. Decisions of this nature which directly impact the financial wellbeing of elderly residents up and down the country should never be taken lightly. I agree it is imperative Governments of all colours and convictions act in a way that upholds trust in our politics. That is why in Government we were always cautious when making promises to WASPI women.
We should also take this opportunity to note that the Labour Government has gone beyond simply rejecting a compensation package for WASPI women. Their recent changes to the Winter Fuel Allowance, which take an often much-needed benefit away from 10 million pensioners in the height of winter, directly impact millions of women.
Whilst it is not always easy to make decisions, elected Members of Parliament should always start from a position of good faith with their electorates. Overpromising and then going back on your word helps nobody. I will endeavour to use whatever opportunities are available to me in Parliament to support measures which improve the financial circumstances of all pensioners and will resist any efforts by the Government to further erode hard-won benefits, like the Winter Fuel Allowance and Triple Lock, which have done so much to lift pensioners out of poverty in recent years.
