Island women born in the 1950s have marked 10 years of fighting for justice as part of the nationwide Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign.
On 29th August, Solent WASPI’s Isle of Wight members gathered in Ryde to commemorate a decade of action, which has seen campaigners lobby MPs, march through cities, raise awareness in the media and provide vital support for thousands of affected women.
The WASPI movement was formed after it emerged that millions of women were not properly informed about increases to their state pension age. Many say they were left blindsided by the changes, with their retirement plans thrown into turmoil and their finances in disarray.
Despite an official apology from the Government for its poor communication, ministers have refused to accept that an injustice took place and continue to resist calls for compensation. Campaigners were further angered in December when Labour rejected the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s recommendation to pay redress.
Now WASPI is taking the Labour Government to court, with a hearing set for 9th–10th December. A successful outcome could force ministers to withdraw their rejection of the Ombudsman’s ruling.
Group coordinator, Shelagh Simmons, said:
“This anniversary is a recognition of our strength, solidarity, and the hard-fought progress we’ve achieved, but it’s also a powerful reminder that justice is long overdue. This has been a decade of defiance against a government-level injustice, and despite Labour’s betrayal, we will never stop fighting until every single one of the 1950s women in our area, and the 3.6 million across the country, receives the justice they deserve.”
Joe Robertson, Conservative MP for Isle of Wight East, was unable to attend the Ryde event but sent a statement, saying:
“I recognise the deep frustration and sense of injustice felt by women born in the 1950s. My own mother is among them, and I understand the financial and emotional strain this has caused to too many people… The recent High Court ruling is a crucial step forward in the legal campaign. Many feared financial ruin simply for seeking justice, and they must not be silenced by the threat of legal costs.”
He added that WASPI women “deserve more than empty words” and congratulated local campaigners on the Island for their efforts.
Liberal Democrat Councillor Michael Lilley also attended, voicing strong support:
“I solidly support Solent & Isle of Wight WASPI women in their continuing campaign to get justice. The Labour Government should have honoured the Ombudsman’s ruling and it is disgraceful that women born in the 1950s have to go to court… They are our grandmothers, mothers, sisters and neighbours who have supported us, so we need to stand by them.”
Isle of Wight Council has previously voted unanimously to support the WASPI campaign, and members say they are grateful for the strong cross-party backing received locally. They now hope Isle of Wight West MP Richard Quigley (Labour) will reaffirm his position when they meet him in September.
For further information visit: waspi.co.uk
not one of them will get a penny. Those of us that haven’t retired yet, were aware of pension A day changes back in 1995, that communicated the change to the pension age for women.
nice try, but you wanted equality, you got it by having your pension entitlement changed to that of mens at 65.
How about MASPI for men.
Lol
68 is now the retirement age, fortunately I already
have mine.
I feel sorry for friends of mine who are
65 and 66 and have to wait for theirs.
The country find money to give to those they choose
too, and let the elderly of the country down.
At least Labour only have over 3 years left in office.
“At least Labour only have over 3 years left in office”..
Yeah,.. but then what ??.. I hate to think…
The CONservatives have, over 14 years proved they are incompetant.
Labour, are doing a very good job of following suit
as for Deform…
4 MPs,..
no experience what so ever of running the country
previous ‘raison d’être’ (e.g. brexit) which they claimed would make everything better, has turned out to be an utter disaster…
with their current ethos of having policies to make the rich richer & the poor poorer,. they’ll be worse than the tories for the ‘normal’ people & pensioners…
we know from their stated objectives, that they intend to scrap the NHS as it is & make it ‘insurance based’.. so it’s great if you’re rich,.. but if you not,.. well “please don’t make a fuss & just die quietly… there’s a good chap,.. we are British after all”
Very clearly and succinctly put. I find it inconceivable that so many people managed to not know about this change for so many years. In any event, no government is ever going to find so much money to compensate so few when there are so many more pressing demands on the public purse which affect so many more.
Exactly right Jan. I knew about this even though I wasn’t affected. Get over it girls, you won’t be getting compensation. It’s called equality and, besides which, the country can’t afford it.
The WASPI group is not the Back to 60 Group.
The Government Ombudsman concluded there was maladministration and awarded the very small amount of compensation. If the Government go against Government Ombudsman rulings that is not good. This is what happened last December.
I