Come with Mr S on a trip down memory lane, to a long-forgotten era known as, er, the last parliament. Back then, Labour were all too keen to be all things to all men (and women). A prime example of that was the campaign by Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) to give compensation to women born in the 1950s who claim they were not properly informed of changes in the state pension age.
In the heat of the 2019 election campaign, Labour jumped on the WASPI band wagon. They effectively committing to signing a blank cheque worth billions by signalling their support for the campaign without doing the sums. Among those leading the charge was the-then education spokesperson Angela Rayner who told broadcasters:
The government failed the women who were born in the 1950s, they stole their pension, that contract, that agreement that they thought they had and then accelerated it so that those women didn’t have the chance to prepare for that. We said we’ll right that injustice. And within the five years of the Labour government, we will compensate them for the money that they’ve lost.
This is their money that they’ve had stolen off them and it’s completely unacceptable. And any government, any government, should act responsibly to these women who have looked after their children through that period. They’re often looking after elderly relatives now, and they’re a part of our society that have felt really unjust by the way they’ve been treated. And it’s absolutely right that we deal with this issue.
Fast forward five years and Rayner’s tune has changed. Now, Labour are refused to commit to giving the WASPI campaign compensation – much to their chagrin. According to Anneliese Dodds, it’s because the circumstances have now changed. If so, she might want to have a word with her deputy leader, who still proudly lists the clip on her Facebook page…
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