Campaigners say as many as 3.8 million \u201cWaspi women\u201d lost out on money because of the way in which changes to the state pension age were communicated. <\/p>\n
The government had previously vowed not to offer compensation, but work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden announced<\/a> in November last year that the case was being reconsidered after a new document came to light. However, he told MPs today that the government had again reached the conclusion that no money should be paid<\/a>.<\/p>\n The decision prompted a furious backlash, with Sir Keir Starmer\u2019s own MPs hitting out, describing it as a \u201cshameful day\u201d for the Labour Party. <\/p>\n Announcing that the women concerned would not receive compensation, Mr McFadden <\/a>apologised that women born in the 1950s were not sent individual letters<\/a> about the changes to their state pension<\/a> earlier. <\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Women Against State Pension Inequality accused the government of treating 1950s-born women with \u2018utter contempt\u2019 (PA)<\/p>\n But he warned that a flat-rate compensation scheme would have cost more than \u00a310bn.<\/p>\n He told the Commons there were \u201clegitimate and sincerely held views\u201d about whether the decision to accelerate the equalisation of the state pension age \u201cwas the right thing to do or not\u201d. But the issue of compensation is based on \u201chow changes to the state pension age were communicated\u201d, not past policy decisions, he said.<\/p>\n He also pointed to a conclusion reached by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), \u201cthat women did not suffer any direct financial loss from the delay\u201d.<\/p>\n Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi), which has long campaigned for compensation, accused the government of treating 1950s-born women with \u201cutter contempt\u201d, branding the decision a \u201cdisgraceful political choice by a small group of very powerful people who have decided the harm and injustice suffered by millions of ordinary women simply does not matter\u201d.<\/p>\n The group also said it was taking legal advice and that all options \u201cremain on the table\u201d. <\/p>\n But MPs told the government the decision was \u201cfrankly wrong\u201d and would feel like a \u201cpunch in the stomach\u201d to those affected. <\/p>\n Labour\u2019s former shadow chancellor John McDonnell told The Independent: \u201cThe government shouldn\u2019t underestimate the anger there will be amongst large numbers of women who will feel betrayed. The refusal to accept the ombudsman\u2019s findings of the injustice these women suffer, and adopt even the ombudsman\u2019s moderate proposals, will be seen as an appalling snub to women. <\/p>\n \u201cThese women will recall the MPs, including current government ministers, who appeared on Waspi platforms before the election promising support.\u201d<\/p>\n The Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, Brian Leishman, said it was a \u201cshameful day for a great party\u201d and an \u201cabsolute disgrace\u201d, while Liverpool Riverside MP Kim Johnson told The Independent that the decision amounted to \u201cnothing less than blatant contempt\u201d. <\/p>\n Labour\u2019s Rebecca Long-Bailey, the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on state pension inequality for women, said the decision was \u201cfrankly wrong\u201d, while her fellow backbencher Andy McDonald added that it \u201cwill be a very bitter pill to swallow\u201d for those affected. <\/p>\n![\"Women](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/5251fa2885802a36e49dc1e24beda61cY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzY5MTE3MDEz-2.78023911.jpg\")
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