Labour faces backlash for not supporting universal WASPI women compensation after Shanks letter

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The Labour Party have been accused of "turning their back on the WASPI women" after a letter from Rutherglen MP Michael Shanks was sent to a constituent.WASPI lead the fight for compensation for women born in the 1950s affected by changes to the state pension age.In 1995, the UK Government legislated to incrementally increase the women’s state pension age from 60 to 65 to match the pension age of men.

Many women argue that they were not notified of the changes – plunging their retirement plans and personal finances into disarray.The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android In a letter to a constituent, Mr Shanks said he didn't believe that universal compensation would be 'right'.He said: "I think it is more complex than that and I’m not convinced a one size fits all approach is right, or a good use of public money."The PHSO has recommended £1-3,000 per person, costing up to £10bn. "However, this would give compensation to women who did know about the change – around 43 percent of WASPI women according to the PHSO. "We need to ensure that any compensation is fair, so that at such a difficult time for the country financially we are not paying out thousands of pounds of compensation to women who were well aware of the changes, and that we are not insulting those badly affected with a mere £1-3,000.”The SNP says