The Solent Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) supporters group is welcoming the opportunity offered by the General Election to press the case for fair transitional arrangements for 1950s-born women hit by state pension age rises with little, or no, notice.
Women affected by the SPA changes have been forced to wait up to an extra 6 years for their state pension, losing as much as £46,000 in the process.
Solent WASPI is asking parliamentary candidates on the Isle of Wight to sign up to the ‘WASPI pledge’, with Labour’s Julian Critchley the first Island candidate to put his name to paper.
Group Joint Coordinators, Shelagh Simmons and Carolyne Jacobs, have said:
“Our campaign has gone from strength to strength since the National Demonstration on Budget Day (8th March 2017). The General Election gives us a great chance to build on that and keep the momentum going.”
“We are writing to candidates from all parties across our Solent Group region (Southampton, Portsmouth, Winchester, South Hampshire and the Isle of Wight) asking them to sign the WASPI Pledge and tweet photos of support. It is a direct and simple way to promise, if elected, to work towards a fair solution for 1950s women and their families.”
“The General Election is the perfect time for all candidates to stand up and be counted. They can either turn their backs on women who have worked hard all their lives only to be treated so shabbily by the state; or they can acknowledge the obvious injustice we have suffered and commit to putting it right. The choice is theirs and their choice will affect the way we vote”.
