Waspi women latest: Reeves claims millions knew about pension changes amid backlash over compensation

Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform UK, has supported the government’s decision not to compensate the Waspi women.

Speaking to Sky’s Kay Burley, Mr Tice said: “Waspi women have been fighting a significant campaign. But the reality is we haven’t got £10bn just to fling around.

“And the reality is, [Reform UK’s] economic policy of lifting the starting point of paying any income tax to £20,000 – that’s an extra £1,500 for anybody working and those receiving pensions.

“That helps the Waspi women, along with everybody else.”

Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith has criticised the “betrayal” of the Waspi women by Labour – but acknowledged the Tories may not have offered compensation either.

Mr Griffith told Sky News that every Waspi campaigner believed that this government “would do something”.

He said: “They’d all talked about it: Keir Starmer had talked about it, Angela Rayner talked about it, even Liz Kendall, who yesterday said they weren’t going to do a single thing about it, had talked about it. So it’s a big issue of betrayal.”

The Tories may not have offered compensation, but this is beside the point, he added.

“I’m not sitting here saying we would necessarily have done something about it. That’s fair.

“But the point is this Government has given everybody the impression that they would, and then they’ve come in, and now they’re saying they wouldn’t. That’s a big issue. I can understand people, particularly the Waspi women, feeling enormously let down by that.”

Daily Mirror: We have been betrayed

Daily Mail: Betrayal that proves Labour cynically said ANYTHING to get elected

The Times: Labour MPs rebel over new blow to pensioners

Daily Express: Labour have betrayed our OAPs time after time!

Morning Star: Kendall refuses Waspi cash deal

Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who previously backed the Waspi campaign, has said an “expensive compensation bill” was not a good use of taxpayer funds.

Mr Reeves said: “I understand that women affected by the changes to the state pension age feel disappointed by this decision, but we looked in full at the ombudsman recommendations and they said that around 90% of women did know that these changes were coming.

“And as Chancellor, I have to account for every penny of taxpayers’ money spent.

“And given that the vast majority of people did know about these changes, I didn’t judge that it would be the best use of taxpayers’ money to pay an expensive compensation bill for something that most people knew was happening.”

Around six years ago, Labour MPs gave a standing ovation to Waspi women who staged a protest from the House of Commons public gallery.

The protest took place soon after former chancellor Philip Hammond had concluded his 2018 Budget statement. Many Labour MPs – then under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn – stood up to applaud.

Sir Keir Starmer, near the Speaker and next to Emily Thornberry, appears to stand up alongside fellow MPs – but it is unclear if he is applauding.

Improving public services for pensioners is a better use of taxpayers money than compensating the Waspi women, government minister Rushanara Ali said this morning.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “The fact is that we have got a huge, huge job to do in terms of making sure that the conditions that pensioners live in in our country are improved and that’s why our focus is on protecting the triple lock, which will unlock £30 billion in this Parliament, supporting pensioners… and that includes those who are women born in the 1950s.

“We are absolutely committed to tackling the public service crisis in the NHS, making sure we’ve got more policing in our streets, which is about security and safety for pensioners and support for the NHS, they need those services.

“So this Government has inherited a devastating set of issues, we are responding to those challenges.”

Government minister Rushanara Ali is defending the decision not to award compensation to the Waspi women in the morning media round.

Speaking with Sky News, she described the fallout over the Waspi women compensation as “deeply regrettable”, but that compensation would not be a “fair or proportionate” use of taxpayer money.

“The situation is that in terms of the compensation, it would be up to some £10 billion, which we don’t feel is fair or proportionate in terms of use of public money, given that some 90% of those affected, according to the ombudsman’ report, it would not have been made a difference in terms of the delay in the letters,” the homelessness ministersaid.

“But the reality is, this has been a very difficult issue for those affected, and it’s deeply regrettable, and lessons will need to be learned.”

The prime minister came under fire on Wednesday after work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall rejected calls for 3.8m affected individuals to be given £1,000 and £2,950 each in compensation.

Homelessness minister Rushanara Ali was sent out to defend the government’s decision, but faced a heated Sky News interview in which presenter Kay Burley said Labour had “made a promise time and time again” to affected women before the general election.

“And now you’ve literally said, ‘nah, sorry, it’s not happening’,” Ms Burley said.

Ms Ali repeated Ms Kendall’s apology on behalf of the government to women affected by the change, which hiked the state pension age from 60 to 65, with millions claiming they were not properly aware.

She said: “Lessons need to be learned for the future and I absolutely understand this is really, really difficult.

“We will need to make sure these things do not happen again.”

Read the full report from political correspondent Archie Mitchell:

Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall rejected calls for individuals affected to be awarded between £1,000 and £2,950 each, while claiming she understood their unhappiness.

“I know there are women born in the 1950s who want and deserve a better life, they have worked hard in paid jobs and in bringing up their families,” she said.

She pledged the government would protect the pensions “triple lock”, drive down NHS waiting lists and deliver “the jobs, homes and opportunities your families need to build a better life”.

Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports: