Maree Todd shows support for women in pensions ‘betrayal’
Waspi women have been subject to a “great injustice” according to far north MSP Maree Todd.
The SNP member pointed the finger at the Liberal Democrats for their part in the affair, which saw the UK Labour government refuse to pay compensation to hundreds of thousands of women in Scotland.
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross MP Jamie Stone, a Liberal Democrat, last week said he was “shocked and astonished” at that decision, and said the government had turned its backs on those affected.
Some 3.8 million women born in the 1950s have been affected, leading to the formation in 2015 of the Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) campaign. It is estimated that 344,910 Scottish women are included in those figures.
Under the 1995 Pensions Act a timetable was drawn up to equalise the age at which men and women could draw their state pension. The plan was to raise the qualifying age for women to 65 and to phase in that change from 2010 to 2020.
In 2010, under the Liberal Democrat-Conservative coalition government, Ms Todd, the Caithness, Sutherland and Ross MSP, said a decision was made to speed that up, bringing forward the new qualifying age of 65 to 2018.
The Waspi group claim they were unfairly and unequally treated due to the way this change was brought in. They were seeking compensation and, earlier this year, a parliamentary ombudsman had recommended payouts of between £1000 and £2950 for each person affected.
Last week, the work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall announced the government does not believe that paying a flat rate to women at a cost of up to £10.5 billion “would be fair or proportionate to taxpayers”.
Ms Todd met with Waspi campaigners at the Scottish Parliament on Thursday to show her support.
She said: “I stand by the Scottish women impacted by the Waspi pensions scandal in the face of the UK Labour government’s betrayal. This is a great injustice and yet another example of a hollow promise from the Labour Party.
“The Liberal Democrats may speak about the wrongs done to Waspi women, but they fail to acknowledge their direct role in this scandal. While in government, they worked with the Tories to accelerate the rise in pension age, bringing it forward by two years.
“Along with the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives, Labour has now joined the list of Westminster parties to let down the Waspi women. The SNP has been unwavering in our support for the women impacted and we are not prepared to give up the fight now.”
The MSP added: “In Parliament, I had the opportunity to meet with Waspi women. They are furious at Labour and see it as a complete betrayal.
“They are also deeply offended by the suggestion that it’s somehow their fault, with Labour implying they didn’t read their letters or understand the information. These women have experienced a lifetime of sexism and misogyny, it’s heartbreaking to see them still facing it now in 2024.”
