WASPI women in Ayrshire are “shocked and disgusted” following the decision by the UK Government not to issue compensation.
A statement released by the Ayrshire WASPI Group slammed Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government and called the Labour Party “lying, untrustworthy hypocrites”.
A number of Labour MPs in Scotland had campaigned alongside WASPI women for fast and fair compensation.
SNP MSPs across Ayrshire have continued to back the WASPI women and have called the UK Government “shameful” and decried the decision as “incredulous”.
In March, the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman (PHSO) recommended that WASPI women be paid compensation for the maladministration of changes to the state pension age.
Women born in the 1950s saw their state pension age changed following various reforms under the governments of Tony Blair and David Cameron but the Department of Work and Pensions failed to adequately communicate these changes.
A report published by PHSO subsequently found that WASPI women “suffered frustration and outrage” because of the DWP’s “failure to be open with them and acknowledge their valid points and concerns over an extended period of time”.
The ombudsman was forced to take the highly unusual step of laying their report before Parliament in March in a bid to ensure compensation for WASPI women as they “strongly” doubted the DWP would provide it.
In a statement, Ayrshire WASPI said: “Ayrshire WASPI Group members are shocked and disgusted by what can only be seen as a betrayal of everything the Labour Party MPs and MSPs have told us while they were in opposition.
“Instead of going after all those who fraudulently claimed money for inadequate PPE for example, they decide to target the vulnerable and already penalised WASPI women.
“Lying, untrustworthy hypocrites is the best description of how we feel about the Labour Party now.”
Speaking in the House of Commons at Prime Minister’s Questions today, Wednesday, December 18, Mr Starmer said that 90 per cent of WASPI women knew about the changes and that the public purse could not afford to compensate them.
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