(Bloomberg) -- Keir Starmer’s UK government faces a backlash after saying it will not compensate the so-called “WASPI women,” who were affected by an unexpected increase in the state pension age, the latest example of the new Labour administration alienating a core constituency of voters.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall told the House of Commons on Tuesday that the government would not pay compensation to as many as 3.8 million women born on or after April 6, 1950 who were affected by a rise in the state pension age to 65 from 60 that an ombudsman found was not communicated to them properly. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman suggested in a report in March that compensation totaling as much as £10.5 billion ($13.3 billion) would be appropriate.
The decision provoked a backlash from opposition parties and also Labour MPs, many of whom had supported the campaigners while their party was in opposition. One lawmaker in the ruling party, Brian Leishman, told the chamber he was “appalled” by the decision, while another, Rebecca Long-Bailey said Kendall’s apology for the “maladministration” by past governments was “not enough.” A third, Florence Eshalomi, suggested the admission of past mistakes should entail “accountability.” The women affected by the change in state pension age said they intend to appeal the decision in court.
“We’re certainly not giving up the fight,” Debbie de Spon, who campaigns for WASPI — or Women Against State Pension Inequality — told BBC radio on Wednesday. “The ombudsman carried out a 6-year investigation, and it makes rather a mockery of that system if the DWP can cherry-pick which parts of that investigation they choose to accept,” she said, referring to Kendall’s department.
The decision adds to a growing list of demographic groups Labour has alienated in less than six months in office. Most pensioners had already been stripped of support for their winter heating bills, while in October’s budget, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves unveiled changes to inheritance tax that provoked a backlash from farmers, and raised taxes on businesses by tens of billions of pounds after spending years in opposition courting their support.
All of that has contributed to plummeting approval ratings for Labour and Starmer. Some 70% of Britons are dissatisfied with the new UK premier, according to an Ipsos poll carried out between 27 November and 4 December.
Compounding the damage is Labour’s past support for compensation. Kendall and Reeves both in the past posed with pledge cards promising to work with WASPI campaigners to find a “fair solution for all women affected,” while Starmer had also indicated his support.
“Many members of the front bench have been very supportive of WASPI over the years,” de Spon said. “We think it’s time that we called in some of that support.”
But Labour has said it faced a £22 billion black hole in the public finances this year, necessitating difficult decisions. Kendall told the Commons that the proposed compensation package would not be “a fair or proportionate use of taxpayers’ money.”
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