A former Perthshire postmistress this week spoke of her anger and feelings of betrayal at the Westminster government’s announcement it would not pay compensation to Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaigners.
Catherine Scott (68), of Methven, had been due to retire at 60 in 2016. She said: “I did not get a letter when the retirement age went up to 65. I wasn’t aware of it going up to 65.
“I did however get a letter when it went up from 65 to 66.”
Under the 1995 Pensions Act the state pension age for women was to increase from 60 to 65 in stages between 2010 to 2020. In 2011 the coalition government brought it forward to 2018.
Two years later the state pension age for men and women was raised to 66.
Ms Scott said: “I am absolutely raging. Labour said if they were elected there would be compensation for WASPI women. They would make it a priority.
“I find it hard to believe they have done this.
“What is the point of having an ombudsman if their recommendations are not implemented?
“We have been fighting powerful men all these days. We are not going to take no for an answer – and we are not going away.”
Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) secretary Liz Kendall told the House of Commons this week the Westminster government would not be adopting the UK Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s (PHSO) recommendation to award between £1000 and £2,950 to women affected by the change in the state pension age.
And Prime Minister Keir Starmer told MPs that the taxpayer cannot afford “tens of billions of pounds” in compensation.
Perth and Kinross SNP MP Pete Wishart said of the Labour government’s U-turn: “Not much shocks me in politics these days, but this has to be the most shameful betrayal I have ever seen from a UK government administration.
“Labour in opposition backed them to the hilt. But now in government with the power to do something about it, they turn their backs.
“This is simply unforgivable to the millions of women who had their retirement plans upended by the UK government, plunging many into poverty, and to the thousands who have already died without ever receiving justice.”
Perth City South Liberal Democrat councillor Liz Barrett said: “Many Labour candidates, and sixteen current cabinet Ministers, supported the WASPI campaign for compensation, but have now changed their tune.
“The Conservative party left our economy in a shambles, but asking wronged pensioners to pay the price of their mismanagement is disgraceful.
“This shouldn’t be another Windrush, contaminated blood, or Post Office scandal, where the government keeps kicking the can down the road, delaying action while victims die.”
Former Perth City North Labour councillor Brian Leishman – who took the Alloa and Grangemouth Westminster seat for the party in July’s general election – told Ms Kendall in the Commons he was appalled by the decision, describing it as “an incredible let down”.
Stirling and Strathallan Labour MP Chris Kane said this week he has written to Ms Kendall to express his disappointment, adding: “Unfortunately, what we would like to do and what we can afford to do is not the same thing, and I recognise the Government is having to take tough choices to steer us out of the financial mess the Tories have left us all.”