Compensating Waspi women would ‘burden’ the taxpayer, Sir Keir Starmer says
Sir Keir Starmer has defended a decision not to compensate women affected by changes to their retirement age – saying doing so would “burden” the taxpayer.
The prime minister said he understood the concerns of the Women Against State Pension Inequality – often known as Waspi women – but their demands were not affordable.
He was speaking after Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall issued an apology for a 28-month delay in sending out letters to those born in the 1950s impacted by state pension changes.
However, she said she doesn’t accept that compensation should be paid.
Follow politics latest: Reaction to Waspi decision
Ms Kendall said the “great majority of women knew the state pension age was increasing” and that a state-funded pay-out wouldn’t be “fair or value for taxpayers’ money'”.
The announcement was branded a “day of shame” by the Liberal Democrats, who accused the Labour government of “turning its back on millions of pension-age women who were wronged”.
In the mid-1990s, the government passed a law to raise the retirement age for women over a 10-year period to make it equal with men.
The coalition government then sped up the timetable as part of its cost-cutting measures.
The Waspi group say millions suffered financially as they were not given sufficient warning to prepare for the later retirement age.
Earlier this year, an investigation by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) found that thousands of women may have been adversely impacted by failures to adequately inform people of the change.
The watchdog suggested that women should receive compensation of between £1,000 and £2,950 – but the findings were not legally binding.
Read More:
What is a Waspi woman and what happened to them?
Ms Kendall said paying that would have cost up to £10.5 billion, which is not “fair or proportionate”.
She also said she did not agree that sending letters earlier would have made a difference, saying research given to the Ombudsman showed “only around a quarter of people who are sent unsolicited letters actually remember receiving them or reading them“.
However she did accept there was maladministration in communicating the changes and vowed to “learn all the lessons” so it did not happen again.
Speaking later to journalists, Ms Kendall said “real and concrete actions” were coming out of the report, including a “detailed action plan to make sure those sorts of delays never happen again”.
Speaking to reporters after the announcement, Sir Keir said: “I do understand, of course, the concern of the Waspi women. But also I have to take into account whether it’s right at the moment to impose a further burden on the taxpayer, which is what it would be.”
The Waspi campaign group hit out at the decision on X, reminding Ms Kendall that she had previously called for a “fair solution for all affected”.
Women protest against changes in the state pension
Angela Madden, chairwoman of Waspi, said refusing to compensate them was a “bizarre and totally unjustified move”.
She added: “An overwhelming majority of MPs back Waspi’s calls for fair compensation and all options remain on the table. Parliament must now seek an alternative mechanism to force this issue on to the order paper so justice can be done.”
This may be as big a political blunder as chancellor’s winter fuel cut
When Liz Kendall declared in the Commons there’ll be no compensation for the so-called WASPI women, there were shouts of “shame!” from MPs.
And no wonder. Could this be as big a political blunder as Rachel Reeves axing winter fuel payments for pensioners? Potentially, yes, given the furious backlash already.
Yes, compensation was promised by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and his shadow chancellor John McDonnell in the run-up to the December 2019 general election.
Mr McDonnell promised a £58 billion compensation scheme designed to end a “historic injustice” and said a “debt of honour” was owed to women born in the 1950s.
And yes, Sir Keir Starmer fought this year’s election as a changed Labour Party. And no, there was no repeat of the Corbyn-McDonnell pledge in this year’s election manifesto.
But as recently as 2022 the prime minister told a caller in a radio phone-in: “This is a real injustice. We need to something about it.”
In 2019, when she was in Mr Corbyn’s shadow cabinet, Angela Rayner said the Tory government “stole this money” from women born in the 1950s and Labour would “right that injustice”.
But not only that, Liz Kendall herself attended a WASPI campaign event in 2019 and said: “This injustice can’t go on. I have been a longstanding supporter of the WASPI campaign…”
No surprise then, that many of Labour’s newly-elected MPs now feel betrayed. “It feels a bit like we assembled this enormous coalition at the election and now we’re just intent to taking an axe to it piece by piece,” one new Labour MP told Sky News.
If it was an injustice in 2019 and in 2022, surely it’s still an injustice? Should other groups battling against injustice – like sub-postmasters and infected blood victims – be worried now?
Labour MPs were among those who criticised the decision in the House of Commons.
Gareth Snell, for Stoke-on-Trent Central, said today was a “sad moment” and asked the government to re-think its position if the economy improves.
Brian Leishman, for Alloa and Grangemouth, said he was “appalled” at the refusal to compensate the women, calling it “an incredible let down”.
The UK economy shrank more than expected in April as the worst of President Trump’s tariffs hit.
The standard measure of economic output (GDP) contracted a sharp 0.3% in April, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.
During the month, Mr Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” applied steep tariffs to countries around the world and sparked a trade war with China, the world’s second-largest economy.
The outcome is worse than expected by economists. A contraction of just 0.1% had been forecast by economists polled by the Reuters news agency.
It’s also down from the growth of 0.2% recorded in March.
Blow for Reeves
It’s also bad news for Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who has made the push for economic growth her number one priority. Speaking to Sky News following the news, she described the figures as “disappointing”.
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Reeves refuses to rule out tax rises
Additional costs on businesses were also levied during the month, as higher minimum wages and employer national insurance contributions took effect, which businesses told the ONS played a part in their performance.
Why?
The biggest part of the economy, the services sector, contracted by 0.4%, and manufacturing dropped 0.9%.
There was the largest ever monthly fall in goods exported to the United States, the ONS said.
Decreases were seen across most types of goods due to tariffs, it added.
Higher stamp duty depressed house buying and meant legal and real estate firms fared badly in the month.
After a strong showing in the first three months, car manufacturing performed poorly.
Business
Spending review: More cash for schools, NHS and defence expected as chancellor unveils plans
The chancellor will unveil the spending review at lunchtime – with plans to invest billions of pounds across the UK.
However, Rachel Reeves will admit that “too many people” are yet to feel the benefits of the government’s work so far.
In the House of Commons, she will confirm the budgets for each government department over the next three years – with boosts expected for schools, defence and the NHS.
Ms Reeves will vow to spend vast sums of money across the country to “ensure that renewal is felt in people’s everyday lives, their jobs, their communities”.
She is also pledging to set out “reforms that will guarantee towns and cities outside London and the South East can benefit from new investment”.
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Chancellor Rachel Reeves will set out the government’s spending plans for the next three years. Pic: Reuters
Ms Reeves is expected to say: “This government is renewing Britain. But I know too many people in too many parts of the country are yet to feel it.
“This government’s task – my task – and the purpose of this spending review – is to change that … So that people can see a doctor when they need one. Know that they are secure at work. And feel safe on their local high street.
“The priorities in this spending review are the priorities of working people. To invest in our country’s security, health and economy so working people all over our country are better off.”
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What to expect from the spending review
Watch live coverage of the spending review on Sky News from 12pm
Ms Reeves will formally confirm “the biggest-ever local transport infrastructure investment in England’s city regions” – worth £15.6bn – as well as £86bn to “boost science and technology”, including by building the Sizewell C nuclear power station.
She will also announce the extension of the £3 cap on bus fares, Sky News understands. The cap – which Labour lifted from £2 – was due to expire at the end of this year.
Meanwhile, £39bn for a new Affordable Homes Programme over the next 10 years is set to be unveiled, with the government seeking to ramp up housebuilding to hit its manifesto pledge of 1.5 million new homes by the end of this parliament.
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‘You are everyone’s worst enemy’
The chancellor will argue: “The choices in this spending review are possible only because of the stability I have introduced and the choices I took in the autumn.”
One of those choices included cutting the winter fuel allowance for almost all pensioners – a decision the government has now U-turned on at a cost of £1.25bn. However, she is not expected to explain where that money will come from until the budget this autumn.
Ms Reeves will tell MPs: “I have made my choices. In place of chaos, I choose stability. In place of decline, I choose investment. In place of retreat, I choose national renewal.
“These are my choices. These are this government’s choices. These are the British people’s choices.”
Read more:
Why the spending review is a massive deal
Five things you need to know
But shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said this will be “the ‘spend today, tax tomorrow’ spending review” – arguing that the government is “spending money it doesn’t have, with no credible plan to pay for it”.
He said in a statement: “Rachel Reeves talks about ‘hard choices’ – but her real choice has been to take the easy road. Spend more, borrow more, and cross her fingers. This spending review won’t be a plan for the future – it will be a dangerous gamble with Britain’s economic stability.”
He went on: “Today, we’ll hear slogans, spin and self-congratulation – but not the truth. Don’t be fooled. Behind the spin lies a dangerous economic gamble that risks the country’s financial future.”
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