'Betrayal in the most scandalous way': PM faces pressure over Waspi compensation at PMQs

The PM has faced accusations of "betrayal" and "playing politics" at Prime Minister's Questions, over his decision not to compensate the Waspi women.

The weekly questions session was dominated by outrage about Labour's final decision on Tuesday, with MPs from a number of different parties demanding answers from Sir Keir Starmer.

SNP MP Dave Doogan accused Starmer of being "a one trick phony PM who says one thing and does another", saying he "betrayed" the Waspi women "in the most scandalous way possible".

Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch said "for years the prime minister and his cabinet played politics with the Waspi women". However the Conservatives have never indicated they would offer compensation.

The Conservative Party leader also criticised the Prime Minister for withdrawing winter fuel payments from more than nine million pensioners, accusing him of "punching the British people in the face."

On Tuesday, the Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall announced the government will not be compensating the Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi), despite the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) recommending they do so.

Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) have long been advocating for support for 1950s-born women who say they did not get adequate warnings about changes to the state pension.

Around 3.5 million women who were on the cusp of retirement, or heading towards it, were affected when the changes to the state pension age came into effect.

Starmer said he does "understand the concern", but "the taxpayer simply can't afford the burden of tens of billiosn of pounds of compensation."

He cited the report into the scandal by the ombudsman, which said that 90% of women were made aware of the changes to the state pension age.

Labour MP Ian Byrne urged Starmer to give MPs the opportunity to vote on the decision. While Mother of the House Diane Abbott said the Waspi campaign is "one of the most sustained and compassionate campaigns for justice that I can remember.

"We did promise them that we would give them justice, I understand the issue about the cost. But does the PM really understand how let down Waspi women feel today?"

Rachel Reeves also defended the decision to broadcasters on Wednesday, insisting the government won't pay "expensive compensation" for Waspi women because it wouldn't "be the best use of taxpayers' money."

The Chancellor said she "understand[s] that women affected by the changes to the state pension age feel disappointed by this decision", but "the vast majority of people did know about these changes."

"As Chancellor, I have to account for every penny of taxpayers’ money spent", she said.

The watchdog said in March that the women should be paid up to £2,950 each, a package with a potential total cost of £10.5 billion to the public purse, as poor communication meant they had lost out on the change to plan their retirement finances.

Kendall however accepted a finding of maladministration and apologised for there being a 28-month delay in writing to 1950s-born women.

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A number of senior ministers, including Kendall herself backed the Waspi campaign when Labour was in opposition.

Rachel Reeves appeared in a photograph alongside a group of the women in 2020 at Portsmouth University, holding a placard pledging to work with them towards a “fair solution”.

Kendall, Sir Keir Starmer, and Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden are among the other Labour frontbenchers who previously appeared in photographs alongside Waspi women to lend their support to the group.

The ombudsman has criticised the government’s decision not to compensate the women.

Rebecca Hilsenrath, the ombudsman, told Times Radio: “It’s great that the Government are saying that our intervention will lead to service improvements and it’s fair to say also that people who come to us, overwhelmingly, are motivated by wanting things to improve for other people.

“But what we don’t expect is for an acknowledgement to be made by a public body that it’s got it wrong but then refuse to make it right for those affected.”

When Labour was led by Jeremy Corbyn, it promised some form of compensation for the Waspi women in both its 2017 and 2019 manifestos.

But the party did not make this pledge during this year’s general election.

The Conservatives hit out at the “betrayal” of Waspi women by Labour, but shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith acknowledged the Tories might not have offered any compensation either.

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