Keir Starmer and Labour have been slammed for abandoning the WASPI women (Image: Getty)
Keir Starmer “tapped into the emotion” of the WASPI campaign and left the “impression” they would support their bid for compensation, critics have blasted.
The Prime Minister and many of his closest allies stood side-by-side with women pledging to help them.
But the Government provoked widespread fury after refusing millions of WASPI women compensation.
Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall confirmed last week that ministers would deny payments to the 3.6 million women born in the 1950s who were not properly informed of the rise in age.
WASPI campaigners have demanded justice (Image: Getty)
And Leader of the House of Commons Lucy Powell said she “can’t see” the Government revisiting the issue.
Former Tory minister Tom Pursglove said: “You always want to have a good careful look at the pledge before you hold up a bit of card.
“There was that commitment in the 2019 manifesto, but the impression was allowed to be given that that continued to be the view.
“ and others really tapped into the emotion of that, the pledge cards, the language.
“But there has been a run of broken promises, student fees, the family farm tax, the .
“All of these are emotive issues.”
The Government’s decision, which has sparked outrage across political divides, came months after Labour stripped up to 10 million pensioners of the winter fuel lifeline.
The Parliamentary ombudsman recommended in March compensation of between £1,000 and £2,950 to each of those affected.
But the Women Against Inequality (WASPI) campaign had called for payments of at least £10,000 each.
While the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) could recommend compensation, it could not enforce it.
The Government said it has accepted the watchdog’s finding of maladministration and has apologised for there being a 28-month delay in writing to 1950s-born women.
Ms Powell, responding to criticism during a GB News interview, said: “Look, I can understand why people are upset and concerned.
“It was in our manifesto in 2019, five years ago now. We lost that election pretty badly.
“One of the reasons we lost that election was that people didn’t think we could pay for all the commitments we’ve made in our manifesto. In 2024 there was no commitment in our manifesto to compensation for the WASPI women.
“We wanted to make sure we could afford all of the commitments, we’ve made that judgement.”
But Ms Powell said she “can’t see” the Government revisiting the issue.
She said: “For women at this pension age, the triple-lock is now really boosting the value of pension… we’ve had to look at the report of the ombudsman and take two decisions. Was the recompense for that particular miscommunication back in 2004, was that proportionate? And we found that it wasn’t.
“And is it the right use of public money at this stage? Of course I recognise that over many years for these women, they do feel that they’ve been hard done by.
“But it wasn’t in our manifesto at this election. It was in 2019, and we lost that election in 2019 because people didn’t feel we could afford all the promises we put in our manifesto.”
The impact on WASPI women has been severe, with many forced to cut back on essentials this Christmas. Data shows 70 per cent of women affected have lost Winter Fuel Payments worth £200 or £300 each.
Angela Madden, chair of the WASPI campaign, said: “Despite supportive pledges from the Prime Minister and 16 members of the cabinet, Labour has made a crass, political choice to ignore the findings of the independent parliamentary ombudsman.”
“This heartbreaking study shows the impossible choices WASPI women have been forced to make this Christmas. Far from a time of celebration, this will be a month of misery for many,” she added.