I AM a WASPI woman and received my National Insurance number at age 16. From that point onwards I paid in to the system and still do! Born in 1954, my retirement age changed several times. For most of my life I thought it would be 60, but that changed to 62 to 64 and then Tory Chancellor George Osborne added on another 18 months, which took my retirement age to 66. The same cohort of women targeted time and time again. Never did I receive any official notification of these changes!
The parliamentary ombudsman has stated that the DWP did not communicate these changes to the WASPI women as they should have. Will the government listen and compensate us? The silence is deafening. It’s OK that their chums made millions from Covid, from PPE contracts, it’s OK that they claim for two homes, flip mortgages and rack up expenses to cover their pampered lifestyles, but apparently there is no money for the WASPI women to receive compensation for the loss of six years of pension.
READ MORE: DWP minister refuses to commit to compensation for WASPI women
We trusted the government to honour our pension contract. What this debacle highlights is that if you are an ordinary person – particularly if you are a woman – you don’t matter to the Tory government or the Labour opposition. All these women paid in to the system all their days – where did that money go? Why were we treated as if we were worthless and expendable?
The only party that has consistently supported the WASPI women is the SNP. Thanks to Mhairi Black and Alan Brown for fighting on behalf of the 1950s WASPI women. Wise up, Scotland: Tory and Labour offer Scotland nothing.
Jan Ferrie
Ayrshire
IT doesn’t surprise me in the slightest that the Scottish red tories (Labour) are doing what their Westminster imperial masters tell them and are turning their backs on us WASPI women.
This pension fiasco was done under the guise of gender equality, which to this day remains unequal for working women who do not receive equal pay for doing exactly the same jobs as their male counterparts – even the actress Olivia Coleman has highlighted this too. Why, I ask, was pay inequality not equalised before our pensions were rifled in the guise of gender equality?
READ MORE: Stephen Flynn challenges Labour and Tories on WASPI women – read the full letter
WASPI women have had around £45k of their pensions basically stolen but it has been suggested that only around £3k compensation should be given. What a bloody insult to all WASPIs. We were not informed by the DWP, leaving many women in poverty. Sadly many have passed away, and many more will too without getting justice.
The only political party speaking out about this and standing up for us women are the SNP. Westminster does not care. The Tories and the opposition red tories are the most heartless, self-serving, useless bunch. We need independence and a clear-out of all the Westminster branch office parties who do nothing for Scotland.
Anne Smart
Glasgow
I MUST say I chuckled when reading Brian Lawson’s recent scathing letter regarding the whole idea of freeports in Scotland and how tax evasion can be formally brokered in this way, but with the useful cooperation of the Scottish Government.
I initially perceived how fickle many people have become following our exit from the European Union, and this concept is one of those half-baked Brexit trading ideas that those lying Tory-Brexit charlatans had to dream up to try and justify their bogus claims about the seamless transition to this new positive economic future (a lie!), an “oven-ready deal” etc after stupidly leaving the biggest trading market in the world located right on our doorstep.
READ MORE: Taymouth Castle developers withdraw golf garage plans after local outcry
I recall the Scottish Government’s formal rejection of this whole concept, with many critics nicknaming these freeports as the “Tortugas” of the UK. Years later, the same Scot Government conceded to a formal joint acceptance because the proposal was a form of political blackmail in my humble opinion, especially with the prospect of all these thousands of jobs potentially being created.
As Brian Lawson cynically commented in his letter – “We’ll wait and see if all these jobs materialise”! Succinctly put, and I’d cynically attach this trading concept to the new Trussanomics word that arose after the short-term premiership of the failed Tory PM Liz Truss.
Maybe that failed Tory buffoon/PM Boris Johnson should “carry the can” for this folly as well! Brexit was the key to this ridiculous idea ever arising in this country and it comes straight out of the right-wing Tory manual of stupid, ill-conceived ideas that were never going to drag this country out of the economic mess that these bastards have created, and especially to Scotland with an electorate that rejected Brexit outright in 2016 and opposes it now.
The only way to reverse it is to somehow find a way to leave this failed Union as soon as possible before it is too late.
Bernie Japs
Edinburgh
THE way ahead for the SNP is surely from the leadership of Stephen Flynn, who has lately been their guidance at Westminster. He has brought a new energetic force to the party and readied it for the coming elections.
Stephen should be given an open remit to bring the SNP and supporting forces to fight the battles ahead for independence. We need Stephen’s fighting force across all election places. The battles will be won by his fight for freedom. Do not stand in his way.
Lindsay Craik
via email
NOW we know that there is a rebuttal unit – it’s in Dunoon. Impressive letter, Iain K (Feedback, Mar 24). Is there a billboard big enough?
Roddie Macpherson
Avoch
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