There are moments when those in power face a true test of character. Moments when the principle of justice demands action from the people with the authority to right a wrong. As a nation, we have witnessed several injustices in recent years: the Horizon scandal, with postmasters enduring years of wrongful accusations; the infected blood scandal, which devastated countless lives; and now, the plight of the WASPI women.
These women, born in the 1950s, are mothers and grandmothers who toiled to nurture families and support communities. They played by the rules, worked hard, paid into the system, and rightly expected that, when the time came, the state would honour its promises.
The abrupt increase to the State Pension age, from 60 to 65, was poorly communicated and implemented with little regard for the devastating impact on the lives of women born decades earlier. This lack of adequate notice left many facing severe financial hardship. The Parliamentary Ombudsman has found that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) failure to properly inform those affected amounts to maladministration. Yet, despite this ruling, the WASPI women continue to be denied compensation.
What grieves me most is not just the monetary impact — though that has been significant but the moral failure at the root of all this. The WASPI women are not seeking charity, but justice. They are asking for what is theirs by right.
It is a basic principle of British life that when you work hard and contribute, you are entitled to security in later years. To break that promise is to breach a social contract that has long underpinned the trust between government and the governed.
Some claim that compensating these women is too expensive, but I say to those who parrot such arguments: what would be the cost of failing to repair the shattered trust of a whole generation? Surely the consequence of breaching this long-held understanding is far greater than paying the reparations owed.
These women are far from faceless statistics. They sacrificed careers to care for children and elderly relatives, stepping up during times of national hardship, working long hours, often for low pay, in roles that are too often undervalued.
Older people deserve our support. After the Chancellor’s brutal cut in Winter Fuel Payments —is it any wonder that so many pensioners feel neglected? The failure to stand by the WASPI women is another example of a material disregard for those who have worked and toiled for the benefit of this nation.
Dismissing the WASPI claims is both an insult to their contribution and a denial of their inherent dignity. It tells these women that their years of service and steadfastness mean nothing – surely that’s a message that no decent government should send.
Ministers must act - for this is not merely a matter of arithmetic, it’s a moral duty. The WASPI women deserve a just settlement, and - as I emphasised in the House of Commons - it is time justice was done.
