Renfrewshire MP backs women in pensions battle with Tories
Gavin Newlands, the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, has backed Woman Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) in the House of Commons today, telling the UK Government that ignoring the growing calls for action will “simply not suffice”.
WASPI are an action group of women who are campaigning against the UK Government’s unfair changes to the State Pension Age which is being imposed on women born on or after 6th April 1951 and the way in which the changes have been implemented.
The campaign wants the government to ensure that all women affected by the changes to the State Pension Age are not financially worse off than they would have been if they had been born before 5th April 1950. The changes will affect more than 2.6 million women across the UK, as estimated by an Impact Assessment carried out by the UK Government.
During the debate in the House of Commons, Gavin Newlands MP said:
“From my experience of meeting my constituents at surgeries, I have learned of women affected by this cack-handed change by the government who are living in damp housing, unable to afford the necessary housing repairs, and I have heard harrowing stories of marriages breaking up due to the financial pressures forced upon them through no fault of their own.
“One constituent said to me that she feels like the UK Government have pulled the rug from under her feet, just as she was starting to look forward to have more time to spend looking after grandchildren and enjoying retired life.”
Speaking after the debate, the Paisley and Renfrewshire North MP said:
“We know the problem. We cannot sit idly by and allow a cack-handed policy from the UK Government to devastate the lives of so many people who have worked hard for so long. The government cannot shirk their duty – they must accept responsibility, apologise and correct this as a matter of urgency. Ignorance will simply not suffice.”
