On Tuesday, UK Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall announced there would be no compensation and that full financial compensation would be “an unfair use of taxpayers” money as it may cost the government in excess of £10 billion to roll out.
Their decision faced significant backlash as it as many Labour figures have previously been supportive of the Waspi campaign call for compensation.
READ MORE:
In 2017, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar tweeted: “Under my leadership, Waspi women will finally receive the justice they deserve.”
Mr Sarwar has since sought to distance himself from the Labour minister’s position, saying there is “justified frustration” that there will not be blanket compensation for the women affected.
Anne Potter, a coordinator for Waspi women in the West of Scotland, said 345,000 women in Scotland were not properly informed of the rise in state pension age to bring them into line with men.
Ms Potter, who is a coordinator for Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Dunbartonshire and Renfrewshire Waspi women, said she wants Mr Sarwar to convince Sir Keir and his UK Government to “reconsider their decision”.
The Waspi coordinator told The Herald: “We more or less got told that we are getting nothing.
“From the point of view of what I think about Anas, I am surprised. I would have thought the UK Government would have consulted with the Scottish Labour party. I find it hard to believe Anas didn’t know anything about this.
“He has to try and influence the British government because although we are a smaller nation we are quite an important nation. I think from his point of view he should be making the point that these women in Scotland deserve better treatment and I want some reassurance he will stand up and fight for our corner.
“I also hope that the Scottish Labour MPs that we have in Westminster will stand up too because they are all going to end up with a lot of women at their door in the next wee while because they are all very annoyed.”
Former Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard told The Herald he wants to see compensation for all women born in the 50s who were not aware of changes to the state pension age.
“I don’t see anything in the last few days that’s changed my belief that these women do not deserve justice and do not deserve compensation,” Mr Leonard said.
“The Ombudsman’s report was very clear that because of the cost of administering a system that differentiated between different women and different circumstances that the simplest and the quickest — because for some women time does not go on forever — is to make an across the board payment.”
Mr Leonard said he has not had a conversation with the Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar on this issue yet but says his “very clear view is that we need a universal payment”.
Mr Leonard understands a “strong message” has been given to the UK Government on behalf of Scottish Labour about “how important” this issue is and said he will speak to Mr Sarwar today about his call for a payment for all women impacted.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said he was “deeply disappointed” by the “blanket” decision to not award compensation, and thinks that ministers “could have found a way forward”.
Speaking to STV News on Wednesday, Mr Sarwar said: “I can completely understand, and I believe I was one of the ones that campaigned with them, had photographs with them, I was right to do that, I was right to campaign with them.
“I continue to stand with them in the face of their injustice. I think where there is justified frustration is in the blanket no compensation position.”