They are continuing their fight for DWP compensation
The WASPI campaign (Women Against State Pension Inequality) is pressing on with its bid to overturn the Government’s decision and to finally secure compensation payouts. The group says there are opportunities for it to gain momentum given the current instability in Westminster.
Labour announced in January 2025 there would be no compensation for the 1950s-born women represented by WASPI and others. These were the women affected by the state pension age for women rising from 60 to 65 and then 66. The campaigners claim they were not properly informed of the change, with many finding their retirement plans ruined when they found out at the last minute. Their case previously had the backing of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, who said there was maladministration on the part of the DWP.
The Parliamentary watchdog suggested compensation payments ranging from £1,000 to £2,950. and urged for Parliament to take up the issue. Yet Labour has decided there will not be compensation, making the case that most of the women did know of the change and the sending out letters to the women sooner would have had little impact.
WASPI has now applied for a judicial review of this decision. Many MPs have individually come out in support of compensation, as have some political parties such as the Liberal Democrats and the Greens. Both these parties increased their number of councillors in the recent local elections, where Labour lost over 1,400 seats, showing the country’s frustration with the Labour Government.
Angela Madden, chair of the WASPI campaign, said the current turmoil in Westminster could provide a fresh chance for them to make inroads. Ms Madden said: “Keir Starmer‘s Government becomes less popular every day. I think Andy Burnham joining the race in the Makerfield by election is quite interesting.
“Andy does say he is a supporter of ours, but then so did many Labour people before they got into power.” Andy Burnham told the BBC previously that he thought the decision not to grant WASPI compensation was “the wrong decision”. He said that all political parties should have accepted the Ombudsman’s report and acted on it.
‘A complete unknown’
Ms Madden said the campaign does have a lot of support from Labour backbenchers. WASPI is raising funds to help cover its legal costs for the judicial review. They have a target of £100,000 and have raised more than £60,000 to date. The campaign boss said she is “hopeful” they will continue to make progress.
The big gains in the local elections were for Reform UK, gaining hundred of seats and taking control of many councils. Ms Madden said it’s hard to know what this will mean for support for their cause. She said: “It’s a complete unknown. They haven’t come out in support of WASPI, so we still don’t know. It’s a very difficult time, but it seems there will always be opportunities in any change for us, there always have been.”
They expect to hear back from the courts over the next two or three months about whether their judicial review claim will go to the high court to be considered there. The high court can only overturn the DWP’s decision, but it cannot order that there be compensation payouts.
Looking more immediately ahead, WASPI will be attending union conferences over the coming weeks to raise awareness and drum up more support. They will be at the GMB conference in Blackpool and at the Unison conference in Brighton, both taking place in June.