Yvette Cooper shares support for WASPI women in 2017
Lee Anderson has delivered a scathing rebuke to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper as he shared a clip of her backing compensation for WASPI campaigners eight years ago - in sharp contrast to the stance of the current Labour administration.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s Government has recently opted against providing financial compensation to the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaigners.
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These women, born in the 1950s, were affected by legislative changes that increased the state pension age from 60 to 65, as outlined in the Pensions Act 1995 and accelerated by the Pensions Act 2011.
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman had previously recommended compensation between ￡1,000 and ￡2,950 per individual, citing inadequate Department for Work and Pensions communication about these changes.
However, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall stated that most women were aware of the changes and did not suffer direct financial loss, making compensation unaffordable for taxpayers.
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Yvette Cooper in the 2017 video and Lee Anderson. (Image: GETTY/Facebook)
She said this.
With a straight face ?????? pic.twitter.com/iasTjKPyDJ
— Lee Anderson MP (@LeeAndersonMP_) December 26, 2024
Mr Anderson shared the clip, shot in 2017, which shows Ms Cooper surrounded by campaigners.
In it, the MP for Pontefract, Castleford, and Knottingley says: “I’m here with the Five Towns and Yorkshire WASPI women.
“They’ve been running a great campaign on behalf of women right across this area, and across the country as well.
“They’ve been treated so badly by this Tory government - they’ve had their pension age increased with no proper warning.
Deputy PM Angela Rayner has previously said the WASPI women's pensions have been 'stolen' (Image: Getty)
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“It’s moving the goalposts when people can’t plan - it’s completely unfair.
“I’m joining them, fighting to try and get this changed - I think it’s completely unfair. I’m going to keep fighting for a fair deal for the WASPI women.”
Ms Cooper’s words are then cheered by others in the video - but WASPI chairwoman Angela Madden has since responded in a statement issued on December 19 in which she criticised what she called Labour's “bizarre and totally unjustified move which will leave everyone asking what the point of an ombudsman is if ministers can simply ignore their decisions”.
Mr Anderson, Reform UK MP for Ashfield, posting on X, said: "She said this. With a straight face."
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Labour PM Sir Keir Starmer. (Image: Getty)
Other senior Labour figures have also made remarks that appear to contradict the party’s current position.
In 2019, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner criticised the Conservative government's handling of the issue, asserting that the affected women's pensions had been "stolen" and that Labour would compensate them. During the general election campaign that year, Labour, then led by Jeremy Corbyn, pledged ￡58 billion to address WASPI situation.
The WASPI campaign continues to advocate for fair treatment, emphasising the financial hardships many face due to the pension age changes. Opposition parties have also criticised the government's position, with the Liberal Democrats describing it as a "day of shame.”
Reform UK has voiced support but has not committed to providing financial compensation, with Reform's Deputy Leader Richard Tice, the MP for Boston and Skegness, on record as saying: "We haven't got ￡10bn to just fling around."
Nevertheless, many disillusioned WASPI women are turning to the party led by Nigel Farage.
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A recent survey of nearly 11,000 affected women indicates a significant increase in support for Reform UK, rising to 24%, while support for Labour has dwindled to 7%.
A DWP spokesperson said: “We accept the Ombudsman’s finding of maladministration and have apologised for there being a 28-month delay in writing to 1950s-born women.
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“However, evidence showed only one in four people remember reading and receiving letters that they weren’t expecting and that by 2006 90% of 1950s-born women knew that the State Pension age was changing.
“Earlier letters wouldn’t have affected this. For these and other reasons the government cannot justify paying for a ￡10.5 billion compensation scheme at the expense of the taxpayer.”
A Labour spokesperson said: "The last Tory government crashed the economy and left a ￡22bn black hole in the public finances - the Labour Government is having to fix the mess they left."