Keir Starmer has been warned he faces his biggest rebellion yet from Labour MPs “furious” after the Government decided against compensating Waspi women.
The Liberal Democrats and SNP are expected to force a Commons vote in the new year on compensation for 1950s-born women affected by the rise in the state pension age.
As many as 100 angry Labour MPs are “deeply unhappy” that the Government ruled out payments for Waspi women, The i Paper was told.
Labour rebels believe dozens of backbenchers could vote against the Government, a revolt which could damage the Prime Minister even if it does not see the Waspi decision overturned.
Party insiders were stunned that “newbie” MPs from the 2024 intake openly criticised the decision this week, a sign Starmer’s authority is weakening after a series of unpopular policies.
Some describe the Waspi issue as the “last straw” amid mounting frustration over the winter fuel payment cuts and the failure to scrap the two-child benefit cap.
The Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) group had called for £10,000 each for the 1950s-born women who expected to get their state pension at 60 but had to wait another five or six years.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall sparked outrage from activists on Tuesday by firmly rejecting the idea of financial redress, arguing that it would not be a “fair or proportionate” use of taxpayers’ money.
Starmer’s Government accepted that there had been “maladministration” in the failure to properly notify women of the changes, but rejected the parliamentary ombudsman’s recommendation of compensation.
The Liberal Democrats are expected to force a vote on the principle of compensation for the Waspi women. The SNP have also made clear they would make sure a vote was held.
The Lib Dems’ deputy leader, Daisy Cooper suggested the party was open to using one of its upcoming opposition day debates. She added: “We’re very angry about it and we do think the Government needs to think again.”
Neil Duncan-Jordan, elected Labour MP for Poole at the 2024 election, said lots of his colleagues are “dumbfounded, angry and disappointed” about the Waspi decision, adding: “Just saying ‘no’ [to compensation] is not a solution.
“It’s difficult to know numbers,” Duncan-Jordan said on the size of the looming rebellion. “But lots of MPs who have been loyal up to this point are finding it less easy to carry on being loyal. There is a sense with some MPs that this issue is the last straw.”
Brian Leishman, the newly-elected Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, said: “I will vote against the Government if it comes to it. It’s a moral case. It’s a historical injustice.”
Leishman vowed to vote for Waspi compensation regardless of punishment from the whips. He encouraged others to “leave the leadership in no doubt that this is not right”, before adding: “I don’t think anyone should be getting suspended.”
Seven Labour MPs on the left of the party were suspended in July after voting against the Government on the failure to scrap the two-child benefit cap.
In September, a further group of 12 Labour backbenchers who abstained during a vote over the removal of universal winter fuel payments received a stern letter from the whips warning them not to do so again.
Several Labour MPs told The i Paper that “dozens” could now rebel on the Waspi issue, even if they were threatened with having the whip removed.
Some hope it has enough “head of steam” that No 10 can be persuaded to allow MPs to vote with their conscience. It would avoid the embarrassing prospect of Starmer suspending dozens of backbenchers at once and diminishing his majority.
A Labour MP, who plans on voting against the Government, said they expected a big rebellion when the showdown vote comes, but played down reports that as many as 100 could defy the leadership.
“They are dozens of MPs deeply unhappy – maybe 100,” they said. “But talking up the numbers who would actually vote against their own Government, it’s often overestimated massively.”
Another Labour MP, considering voting against the Government, said: “A relative texted me and said, ‘What have you got against pensioners?’ It’s not a good look.”
They added: “I think the rebellion will be bigger than winter fuel and the benefit cap, because there’s more new MPs now finding their feet and realising it’s your constituents who get you elected. But it’s difficult to see it [a rebellion] above 50, because it’s so difficult to break the whip.”
One Labour MP said: “I’m not sure the leadership quite understand how furious people are. A lot of the new intake are bewildered by the repeated own goals.”
Another Labour backbencher said frustration had built-up over a series of decisions, including rural MPs facing the backlash over the inheritance tax imposed on farmers.
“You’re seeing the newbie MPs kick off about this because they’re saying, ‘You can’t be this shit and expect us just to suck it up’,” they said.
“I think a rebellion could be quite big, though probably not 100. It’s possible [No 10 could allow a conscience vote]. But MPs may have to be prepared to vote not knowing what the punishment will be.”
John McTernan, Tony Blair’s former political secretary, said Starmer had set a “high bar” for dealing with rebellion when he suspended seven MPs after the benefit cap vote.
“They will have to threaten the same, and deliver on that threat,” the No 10 veteran said on the Waspi row.
McTernan added: “With such a large majority Labour should never lose a vote in the whole Parliament – that would show a catastrophic collapse of discipline and authority.”
The Government does appear unlikely to lose a vote on the Waspi issue. While the Lib Dems and SNP have backed the cause, the Conservatives have not committed to a compensation package.
Experts have also pointed out that such a vote would only be symbolic, even if a majority of MPs did back the principle of compensation.
“It’s one thing saying, ‘We don’t like this’. But trying to get everyone to agree on compensation is different,” said former Lib Dem pensions minister Steve Webb.
One Labour source loyal to Starmer’s leadership expects backbench anger over the Waspi issue will “die down” after Christmas.
But they admitted that it had been an error for senior Labour figures, including Kendall and Chancellor Rachel Reeves, to show support for the Waspi campaign. “The mistake was the promising [compensation], rather than not compensating.”
Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, one of those suspended for six months for rebelling on the two-child benefit cap, said it was hard to say how damaging a Waspi rebellion could be.
“The more damaging issue for Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves is not the loss of a vote, but the growing loss of confidence in them,” said McDonnell, who promised a Waspi compensation scheme as part of Jeremy Corbyn’s top team in 2019.
Lucy Powell, Commons leader, told BBC Breakfast on Sunday that she “can’t see” the Government revisiting the issue of Waspi women.
“For women at this pension age, the triple-lock is now really boosting the value of pension… we’ve had to look at the report of the ombudsman and take two decisions. Was the recompense for that particular miscommunication back in 2004, was that proportionate? And we found that it wasn’t.
“And is it the right use of public money at this stage? Of course I recognise that over many years for these women, they do feel that they’ve been hard done by.
“But it wasn’t in our manifesto at this election. It was in 2019, and we lost that election in 2019 because people didn’t feel we could afford all the promises we put in our manifesto.”
Labour and No 10 have been contacted for comment.
