logo
WASPI women clear 'significant hurdle' in bid for court review over pensions

WASPI women clear 'significant hurdle' in bid for court review over pensions

Daily Mirror08-06-2025
The Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign group has announced it has cleared a significant hurdle in its battle for a High Court challenge.
The Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign group have announced a significant step forward in their fight for a High Court challenge. WASPI is pushing for a judicial review to compel the UK Government to rethink its decision to dismiss a compensation package for women impacted by the way changes to the State Pension age were communicated.
On Friday, the campaigners revealed they've been informed their case is arguable, paving the way for a court hearing. A prior report from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) suggested that compensation between £1,000 and £2,950 could be suitable for each affected individual.
However, in December 2024, the UK Government stated that while it accepted the Ombudsman's finding of maladministration and apologised for the delay in contacting women born in the 1950s, a blanket compensation scheme, potentially costing taxpayers up to £10.5 billion, cannot be justified.
In February, WASPI campaigners put forth arguments for a legal case challenging the decision not to compensate women, reports the Daily Record.
The campaigners' lawyers argue that the UK Government's reasons for deciding that people should not receive any remedy violate legal principles. WASPI also anticipates a hearing to consider its application for a costs capping order, ensuring campaigners wouldn't be burdened with unknown costs to cover legal fees if they lose.
Nevertheless, the organisation has warned it may need to withdraw its legal challenge if it lacks this monetary safety net and is appealing for more donations to support the fight. WASPI's chairwoman Angela Madden hailed the go-ahead in their legal battle as a "landmark moment in our campaign".
Speaking out, she remarked: "We are grateful for the funds raised so far and understand the country's purse strings are tight, but the Government cannot be allowed to brush this injustice aside."
Declining to give a detailed opinion due to ongoing proceedings, a spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions stated to PA news agency: "We do not comment on live litigation. We have apologised for there being a 28-month delay in writing to 1950s-born women."
They continued to outline the department's stance: "However, we do not agree with the Ombudsman's approach to injustice or remedy and that is why we have decided not to pay compensation."
This week, WASPI has been proactive by introducing a fresh interactive tool that reveals the level of MP support across the country for a compensation scheme aimed at helping around 3.6 million women impacted by the shift in their state pension age.
Recent data uncovers that 179 MPs have openly criticised the UK Government's refusal to compensate the WASPI women in the past few months. Of these, WASPI points out that 56 Labour MPs have vocally condemned Number 10 for failing to address this injustice, with a considerable number more believed to be silently supportive, including several high-profile ministers.
The map reveals a near-unanimous backing from smaller parties, with a robust coalition of Liberal Democrat, Reform UK, SNP, Green, Plaid Cymru and DUP MPs rallying behind the call to compensate WASPI women. Minor parties are almost entirely in agreement, with a formidable alliance of Liberal Democrat, Reform UK, SNP, Green, Plaid Cymru and DUP MPs endorsing the plea for WASPI women's compensation.
Approximately a dozen Tory MPs have also recently reiterated their support for compensation. These revelations coincide with the launch of WASPI's revamped website, which now includes resources to help supporters pen letters to their MPs and join the campaign for a modest annual fee of £15.
Among the most fervent advocates for WASPI women are members of the State Pension Inequality for Women APPG, led by Labour MP Rebecca Long-Bailey. This cross-party group of MPs, one of the largest in Parliament, comprises representatives from all major political parties who have pledged to persist in their quest for justice.
However, according to WASPI campaigners, 134 MPs who previously supported calls for compensation have not reaffirmed their stance following the Labour Government's announcement in December.
The data does not account for serving government ministers or whips, at least 80 of whom have previously expressed their support for the campaign. The stances of all MPs on compensation can be found on WASPI's interactive 'state of the nation' map, along with new campaign resources, here.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

State pension age 'could have to hit 80' with warnings cost crisis is even worse than feared - as union threatens to take to streets if retirement handouts are delayed
State pension age 'could have to hit 80' with warnings cost crisis is even worse than feared - as union threatens to take to streets if retirement handouts are delayed

Daily Mail​

time20 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

State pension age 'could have to hit 80' with warnings cost crisis is even worse than feared - as union threatens to take to streets if retirement handouts are delayed

Brits are facing a stark warning today that the state pension crisis could be even worse than feared. Concerns have been raised that estimates by the Treasury's OBR watchdog might be underplaying the challenges posed by life expectancy improvements. According to analysis by consultancy Barnett Waddingham, a more 'cautious' approach would be to assume the longevity gap closes between the poorer and wealthier ends of society. That suggests spending would be the equivalent of £8billion a year higher by the mid-2070s. Maintaining the cost of the state pension at around the current proportion of GDP would then require withholding the payments until people reach 80, rather than 74 as previously mooted. The grim calculations emerged as a union threatened to take to the streets if the government tries to increase the official retirement age more quickly. The Rail, Maritime and Transport union lashed out after a government review was launched this week - although it is not expected to report until the end of the decade. Speculation is mounting about the sustainability of the pensions triple lock, which means the state's old-age payouts rise by whichever is highest out of rates of inflation, earnings or 2.5 per cent every year. A government review published in 2023 indicated that if life expectancy returned to the trajectory expected in 2014 the state pension age could be 71 by the late 2050s The OBR warned earlier this month that the policy could cost three times as much as originally expected by the end of the decade, as the ageing population piles further pressure on public finances. The pension age is already slated to rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028. Currently the legal position is that it will reach 68 from 2044-46. But a previous report by former Tesco director Baroness Neville-Rolfe cautioned that might need to be accelerated. With the triple lock in place it has been estimated the level would have to hit 74 by 2065–67 in order to keep spending at around 6 per cent of GDP. But Jack Carmichael, senior consulting actuary at Barnett Waddingham, said there was a 'very real risk' that the situation would be even worse. 'The OBR's 'Fiscal risks and sustainability' report shows the cost of State Pension as a proportion of GDP doubling over the next 50 years, driven by a growing retirement population relative to the working age population,' he said. 'The OBR's modelling uses a high life expectancy scenario, based on the ONS's definition in their population projections, that results in an additional annual State Pension cost of c£2billion in today's terms. 'It assumes a long-term rate of 1.9 per cent, rather than 1.2 per cent. 'In reality, that sensitivity is too cautious and broad-brush, which underplays the degree of longevity risk in the State Pension system. Mr Carmichael suggested it would be more appropriate to assume 'a closing of the life expectancy gap between the individuals with the lowest and highest life expectancy'. 'Not only does this more accurately capture the financial impact of longevity risk in the UK State Pension system, it is also more likely to reflect healthcare spending priorities over the next 50 years if those living the longest at the moment are assumed to have almost reached the life expectancy cap,' he said. 'Under this alternative life expectancy sensitivity, the annual cost of the State Pension would increase by c£8billion - four times higher than the current model predicts. 'To keep the cost of the State Pension at a similar proportion of GDP would then require a massive increase in the State Pension Age, potentially up to the dizzying heights of age 80.' Dr Suzy Morrissey has been commissioned by Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall to look at the 'factors government should consider' on state pension age. And the Government Actuary's Department has been asked to produce a report on the proportion of adult life in retirement. However, it is understood that final decisions are highly unlikely to be taken until the next Parliament, despite concerns about giving people enough time to prepare for changes. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: 'The UK state pension is already one of the worst in the entire developed world, which is a direct result of decades of governments transferring both our national and personal wealth to the super rich. 'Any decision to squeeze more out of working people by forcing us to work even longer would be a national disgrace.' He continued: 'Our members work in physically demanding, round-the-clock, safety-critical jobs. 'Many already struggle to reach retirement in good health, especially shift workers. 'Raising the pension age even further isn't just cruel and unnecessary, it's a slap in the face to the very people who keep this country running. 'If this government makes any move to drastically increase the retirement age, we intend to lead our movement onto the streets and will not hesitate to protest nationally and take co-ordinated direct action.'

Scottish secretary to give Donald Trump 'warm welcome' on visit
Scottish secretary to give Donald Trump 'warm welcome' on visit

BBC News

timea day ago

  • BBC News

Scottish secretary to give Donald Trump 'warm welcome' on visit

UK government Scottish Secretary Ian Murray has said he will give Donald Trump a "warm welcome" when he arrives in Scotland on told the BBC he "expected" to meet with the US president at some point during his four-day trip to the is due to visit his golf resorts at Turnberry, in South Ayrshire, and Menie, in Aberdeenshire, and will meet prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and first minister John is a "private" trip and the president will return to the UK in September for an official state visit, which will include a meeting with King Charles. Murray told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland his meeting with the president was "unconfirmed".Trump is free to set his own schedule during the visit, his first to Scotland since breaking ground on a new course at Trump International in Menie in 2023. The Scottish Secretary is the cabinet minister who represent Scottish interests within the UK said it was in the "national interest" to ensure Trump received a warm welcome in Scotland, where the president has family ties."It's expected but not fully confirmed yet," Murray said when asked if he would meet Trump."The details are still being worked out."He added: "Of course it's a warm welcome. "We would always have a warm welcome for the president of the United States - and the office of the United States and the office of the prime minister work very closely together."My predecessor, David Mundell, met with the president when he last landed in Scotland so it's a duty for us to make sure we are welcoming foreign dignitaries to Scotland in the right way, particularly one that is our closest and nearest ally both economically and in defence and security." Trump opened Trump International in 2012 amid a storm of controversy and bought Turnberry from a Dubai-based firm two years originally planned to name the second course at Menie after his mother, Mary-Anne MacLeod Trump, a native Gaelic speaker born on the Isle of Lewis. 'Global interest' In April 2019, Murray voted in favour of a motion raised in the House of Commons which called on then-prime minister Theresa May to rescind the offer of an official state visit to Trump during his first motion, tabled by Labour's Stephen Doughty, said the House "deplored" Trump's "misogynism, racism and xenophobia" among other criticisms of his time in asked if his view had changed since then, Murray said there was "global interest" in preserving the relationship between the UK and told the programme: "The long historic ties, cultural ties, economic ties between the US and the UK, we are the closest allies in the world and we have to make sure we are working together for the benefit of our national interest and the benefit of the global interest as well."Given the US is our closest ally, given we have just done a trade agreement with them to remove tariffs for the benefit of UK and Scottish businesses and given global events at the moment, it is really, really important for these historic ties to work with our global allies." The Scottish Conservatives shadow Scottish secretary, Andrew Bowie, said Murray had performed a "complete U-turn" on his view of said: "I'm glad that Ian Murray has belatedly recognised how vital it is for Scotland to welcome, and work constructively with, the US president – but he'd have more credibility if he put his hands up and owned his past juvenile opportunism."No wonder the public are turned off by politics and politicians when they hear the Scottish secretary trying to take them for fools."

Trump will get ‘warm welcome' from UK Government during visit, says minister
Trump will get ‘warm welcome' from UK Government during visit, says minister

The Independent

timea day ago

  • The Independent

Trump will get ‘warm welcome' from UK Government during visit, says minister

Donald Trump will receive a 'warm welcome' from the UK Government when he touches down in Scotland on Friday, Scottish Secretary Ian Murray has said. The US president is expected to visit both his golf clubs north of the border – in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire – during the four-day visit. The PA news agency understands Mr Murray is expected to meet Mr Trump as his plane arrives in Scotland. The president is also expected to meet Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Scottish First Minister John Swinney. The Scottish Secretary told BBC Radio Scotland the UK will extend a 'warm welcome' to the president, given the historic ties between the two countries. 'Of course it's a warm welcome,' he said. 'We would always have a warm welcome for the president of the United States. 'The office of the president of the United States and the office of the Prime Minister are ones that work very, very closely together, and should do, because it's in our national interest to do so. 'We should make sure those relationships are in place because it's important for our defence, our security, our economy – especially for jobs – and it's really, really important to the finer details of the US trade deal that's been done.' Mr Murray's comments come despite a 2019 motion in the House of Commons which he backed – along with Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Health Secretary Wes Streeting – while in opposition which accused the president of 'misogynism, racism and xenophobia'. Pressed on his support for the motion, Mr Murray did not answer, instead focusing on the importance of the relationship between the two countries. Mr Murray said the Scottish Secretary has a 'duty' to welcome foreign dignitaries. Protests are expected in parts of Scotland during the visit, with police expected to be stretched and requests for extra officers being issued to other forces in the UK. The Scottish Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said policing will be 'seriously affected'. Mr Swinney said this week that Mr Trump's time in Scotland would not put policing in a 'detrimental position'.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store