Kay Burley has accused the Government of treating Waspi women as less than train drivers in a fiery clash this morning.
The Sky News presenter put Energy Consumers Minister Miatta Fahnbulleh to task following the Government’s confirmation the 1950s-born women would not receive compensation for the impact of changes to .
She left the minister floundering when she asked: “Why can train drivers have the money but the women of a certain age can’t?”
This is despite promises made by Labour while in opposition.
The minister said: “People are going to be angry about this.”
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Kay Burley clashing with Energy Consumers Minister Miatta Fahnbulleh (Image: Sky News)
Ms Burley interjeted to say: “Furious, not angry.”
The minister went on to say: “They’re going to be upset. I know this. In the end, the Chancellor and the Prime Minister have an absolute impossible job against the financial context that we’re operating where things are really, really tight.”
She blamed 15 years of “underinvestment” by the for the decision.
But the host said: “But you promised them you were going to do this. It’s about breaking promises. Why are women of a certain age worth less than train drivers?”
Ms Fahnbulleh said: “I don’t think anyone believes that to be the case.
Ms Burley added: “So why can train drivers have the money but the women of a certain age can’t?
“Your boss posed with these women, the Chancellor posed with these women. Her mother is a WASPI woman.”
Train drivers in the UK accepted a pay deal in September 2024 that will increase their pay by 15% over three years.
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The minister said: “There are 101 things I would love for us to do as a government and I’d love us to do it today. In the end, the reality of governing is it’s hard and the context and backdrop we’ve inherited is absolutely horrendous. So there are choices. All those choices won’t be popular.”
But Ms Burley pressed her on “Why are women of a certain age not seen as a public spending priority?”
The exchange ended when the minister said “they are” to which Ms Burley responded “clearly they’re not”.
The clash comes months after Ms Reeves stripped up to 10 million pensioners of the .