WASPI activists are moving forward with new legal action against the Government after officials declined to reconsider compensation, as confirmed. The Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) group has emphasized the importance of continuing the fight for redress for over three million women born in the 1950s. Recent analysis conducted for the campaign revealed that WASPI women outnumber the majority of current Members of Parliament in 302 constituencies, including 142 held by the Labour Party.
Both the Conservative Party and Reform have not committed to overturning the decision to withhold compensation. Angela Madden, the chair of the WASPI campaign, criticized the Government’s failure to address the issue, stating that it could risk losing support in numerous critical constituencies. She highlighted that Labour MPs are aware of the significant voting power held by WASPI women and accused ministers of disregarding key stakeholders and electoral data.
Madden declared, “We refuse to be sidelined, and we will persist in this struggle.” In a report from 2024, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) found the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) guilty of administrative shortcomings in communicating changes to the state pension age. The PHSO recommended compensation ranging from £1,000 to £2,950 per individual, amounting to a potential total cost of £10 billion, a sum the Government has expressed unwillingness to cover.
In January, affected women were informed for the second time that they would not be compensated. The WASPI campaign is now preparing for a renewed legal challenge in the High Court. The state pension age for women increased gradually from 60 to 65 between April 2010 and November 2018, rose again to 66 in October 2020, and is set to further increase to 67 by 2028.
A spokesperson from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) stated in March that the Government acknowledged the maladministration and had apologized to the affected women. The focus now is on implementing an action plan to enhance communication regarding state pension matters in the future.