‘Parties in Westminster cannot be allowed to fail WASPI women’ – Ben Lake MP

Plaid Cymru MP for Ceredigion calls on Tories and Labour to support compensation for WASPI women

Plaid Cymru MP for Ceredigion, Ben Lake, has today (Monday 25 March) called on the UK Government to take responsibility and accept the recommendations of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and pay compensation to WASPI women.

He noted that the Department for Work and Pensions had thus far refused to comply with the Ombudsman’s recommendation of compensation. The report recommended that compensation of between £1,000 and £2,950 be paid to WASPI women for “a significant and/or lasting injustice that has, to some extent, affected someone’s ability to live a relatively normal life”.

Mr Lake also called on the Labour Party to commit to compensating WASPI women if it were to form the next UK Government.

He urged the Government to provide compensation above that recommended by the PHSO, given the scale of the injustice faced by WASPI Women who have experienced financial and social harm, and which for many has had a severe impact on their quality of life.

On Sunday, both the Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and the Labour Party chair Anneliese Dodds declined to say if they would compensate those who were found by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) to have lost out financially after the Department for Work and Pensions failed to adequately communicate changes to the state pension age.

Speaking today (Monday 25 March), Ben Lake MP said:

“Political parties at Westminster cannot be allowed to fail WASPI women again. These women have suffered years of injustice, and yet the current UK Government continues to refute accountability and deny rightful compensation.

“In my own constituency of Ceredigion, over 5000 women have been affected by this maladministration. They deserve justice, which must include swift and fair compensation.

“Plaid Cymru has stood with WASPI every step of the way. We will continue to support WASPI and pledge to help in any way we can.”