WASPI women could discover their fate of £2,950 compensation from the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) as early as NEXT WEEK. The cause for compensation for the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) generation of women will be discussed in Parliament next week with a scheduled debate.
Scottish Labour MP Brian Leishman said: “I stood with the women when I was campaigning. I went to rallies and protests and demos. I spoke to so many Waspi women, not just from my constituency. I’m not changing my opinion. I did it as a candidate and I’ll be doing it as an MP. So if or when there’s an opposition debate on it that they bring to the chamber, I’ll be standing up and I’ll be voting in favour of Waspi women. And I’ll be urging Labour colleagues to join me in voting for justice for the women.”
He said: “I don’t worry about repercussions from it because I think healthy internal debate within our own party is vital for internal democracy, but also the democracy of the country. You’ve got to then think about what’s right. We stood on it and a platform of it for years. We shouldn’t be changing our values now for it.”
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Paisley and Renfrewshire North MP Alison Taylor said “Waspi women should be fairly compensated where their individual circumstances or situation warrants it.” Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has also said: “I really hope that… there’s been many parliamentary colleagues across the Labour Party that have stood in solidarity with Waspi women and I hope that they still do that.”
Angela Madden, chair of WASPI, has called on MPs to participate in an upcoming debate, stating: “We are writing out to all the MPs who support us asking them to go along. I’m sure the independents will be there.” She added : “It will be good from this debate to gauge the mood of the house now. We know what the mood was on the 18th December when they announced there wasn’t going to be compensation. But people have had time to think about that, to let it sink in.”