WASPI legal challenge to go ahead as campaign chief sounds warning to Labour

WASPI campaigners will go ahead with fresh legal action against the Government after ministers refused to revisit compensation, it has been confirmed. The Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) group has warned not to give up the battle for payouts for more than three million 1950s-born women. New analysis for the campaign found WASPI women outnumber the majorities of sitting MPs in 302 constituencies - including 142 Labour-held seats. Neither the Tories nor Reform have pledged to overrule the decision not to award compensation. Angela Madden, chair of the WASPI campaign, said: “The Government has had every opportunity to do the right thing for WASPI women. "Instead, they have made a political choice that risks alienating voters in hundreds of marginal seats across the country. Labour MPs have seen the electoral data. "They know WASPI women have the numbers to unseat them. Yet ministers continue to ignore the independent Ombudsman, their own backbenchers, and millions of voters.” And she added: "We will not be ignored, and we will not give up this fight." In 2024 the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) found the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) was guilty of maladministration for failing to properly communicate changes to the state pension age. This meant they were unable to plan for their future, the watchdog said, urging compensation of £1,000 to £2,950. This would cost up to £10billion, a bill the Government said it was not prepared to pay. In January, affected women were told for a second time they would not receive compensation. The WASPI campaign is now seeking a fresh High Court challenge, and is in the early stages of preparing it. Between April 2010 and November 2018 the State Pension age for women gradually increased from 60 to 65. It went up again to 66 in October 2020, and is due to go up to 67 by 2028. A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said in March: "The Secretary of State set out the Government's position in his oral statement to Parliament, including acceptance of maladministration and apology to the women affected. "Our focus now is on delivering an action plan to implement lessons learned in how DWP communicates state pension matters going forward."