Pressure is mounting on the Government to rethink its refusal to compensate women affected by changes to the state pension age.
The row has exposed growing divisions in Parliament and renewed anger among campaigners who say thousands of women were left in the dark about major reforms.
A group of 92 MPs from across different parties has written to Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden, urging him to rethink the Government’s stance on compensation for women affected by state pension age changes.
The move marks a clear increase in pressure on ministers over the issue.
The letter was organised by Labour MP Rebecca Long-Bailey. It is backed by more than 50 Labour backbenchers, highlighting growing disagreement within the party.
In the letter to Mr McFadden, MPs describe the refusal to compensate members of Women Against State Pension Inequality as “the wrong decision”. They also say ministers still have “the opportunity to put this right”.
Several senior Labour figures have added their names to the letter. These include Rachael Maskell, Paula Barker, Neil Duncan Jordan and John McDonnell.
All four MPs have spoken out publicly about the issue in recent days. Their support reflects widening concern across Parliament about how the situation is being handled.
Senior figures within the party have also added their support, with Sarah Champion, Cat Smith and Ruth Jones signing alongside a cohort of newly elected MPs from the 2024 intake.
The Waspi campaign has lobbied for state pension compensation | GETTY
The campaign has attracted backing beyond Labour’s ranks, with representatives from the SNP, Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats also endorsing the call for a rethink, demonstrating the breadth of parliamentary concern over the Government’s position.
The Government’s decision marks the second occasion ministers have declined to offer redress to 1950s-born women over how pension age alterations were communicated.
Mr McFadden told the Commons last week that implementing a targeted compensation scheme would prove impractical, while a universal flat-rate payment could reach costs of £10.3billion.
The Waspi women have campaigned for compensation in the wake of DWP “maladministration” in its handling of pension age changes | GETTY
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman had previously recommended payments of between £1,000 and £2,950 for each woman affected by the communication failures.
Labour’s earlier refusal to provide compensation was revisited following the emergence of a 2007 DWP evaluation, which had prompted officials at the time to halt the automatic distribution of pension forecast letters.
The parliamentarians argued that the PHSO’s guidance to ministers was unambiguous, stating: “We believe that the PHSO’s advice to Government was clear and ignoring it is not only unprecedented, it also undermines the authority of the Ombudsman and sends a damaging message to the public about how the state responds when it gets things wrong.”
The letter highlighted the human toll of the dispute, noting that women pensioners have suffered the loss of their homes and savings, with their health also affected.
“The Government have rightly apologised for the wrong; now they need to put that wrong right,” the signatories wrote, urging Mr McFadden to engage with affected women and reconsider his position.