WASPI campaign chief Angela Madden told the Commons Work and Pensions Committee that DWP failings made a huge difference to her life as Keir Starmer was warned the battle is not over
WASPI women have been “airbrushed out of history” and feel “disempowered” after compensation calls were thrown out, MPs have been told.
Campaigners said affected women – who had already endured workplace discrimination and lower pay through their careers – have been forced to sell homes and rely on their families because of failings. Keir Starmer was warned that they will continue to fight after a Parliamentary watchdog’s call for payouts of up to £3,000 were thrown out.
Angela Madden, who chairs the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign, described the heartbreaking impact the injustice had on her. And Debbie de Spon, WASPI’s communication director, told the Commons Work and Pensions Committee: “We feel disempowered, we’re being airbrushed out of history.
“It hasn’t been resolved as far as WASPI women are concerned.” She said the group would continue to take legal advice after the “nasty shock” announcement – adding: “We haven’t got over it yet.”
Mrs Madden, who stopped working early in order to care for her seriously ill mother: “There are some people that perhaps had to sell their houses and move into rented accommodation. We’ve heard of some women housesharing with strangers, we certainly didn’t expect to do that at this stage of our lives. Women have been impoverished by the way we’ve been treated.”
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In March the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman called on Parliament to urgently pay out between £1,000 and £2,950 to affected 1950s-born woman. It followed failings at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) which meant victims were not properly informed that the state pension age was rising. As a result they could not plan for the future.
Mrs Madden told the committee: “Some women could have had an extra four years more than they got from the DWP according to the Ombudsman. That would have given them a lot more time. For me and others that additional notice means we might not have stopped working full time to care for family members. I might have chosen to share caring with part time working.
“The result of that decision had a huge impact financially. If I’d had that extra norice I’d have saved a lot of money but I lost the opportunity to make that decision. That’s what lost opportunity actually means – it’s not something like missing out going to a concert or missing a birthday, it’s an actual decision that made a critical difference to my life.”
A compensation package as recommended by the ombudsman would cost the Treasury between £3.5billion and £10.5 billion. Last week a Labour minister was jeered as he defended the Government’s WASPI compensation snub – claiming the “biggest betrayal of the older generation” is the state of the NHS.
Torsten Bell faced fury as he claimed a tailored compensation scheme “wasn’t a viable option”. Pensions Minister Mr Bell, who had been in post for just 24 hours, was met with groans as he said: “The vast majority of women knew the state pension age was increasing. Sending letters earlier wouldn’t have made a difference.”
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