Waspi campaigners are considering taking legal action against the Government after their demand for compensation over changes to the state pension age was rejected.
The Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) group told The i Paper it was “not scared” of taking the Government to court over the decision.
However, pension experts played down the chance of success in overturning the move in the courts, saying the prospect of compensation payments had been “massively diminished”.
The Waspi group had been pushing for at least £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 among Waspi activists on Tuesday by announcing a compensation scheme would not be a “fair or proportionate” use of taxpayers’ money.
A report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) had found that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was guilty of “maladministration” for failing to properly notify women of the changes.
Kendall said the DWP accepted that there had been maladministration but rejected the PHSO’s recommendation of compensation.
Waspi chair Angela Madden described the decision as “appalling”, and said the group had been in touch with their legal advisers at Bindmans LLP.
“We are considering the legal option,” she said. “We’re certainly exploring it [legal action] – we’re not scared of the prospect. It may be a judicial review is the option open to us, but I don’t know at this stage.”
A judicial review allows a High Court judge to consider the lawfulness of a decision made by the Government.
Ms Madden said the group would have to consult with members and supporters about pursuing the matter in court, and explore whether to crowdfund a legal case.
“If the people who support the campaign want us to continue, they will fund legal action. If they don’t, we won’t be able to,” said the 70-year-old campaign chair. “We have some money in the bank. But it’s rarely enough to mount a legal action.”
The Waspi group raised £120,000 from thousands of supporters for a successful legal action against the PHSO at the High Court in 2023.
The PHSO had not initially accepted that Waspi women had suffered financial losses but changed its mind after campaigners launched a judicial review, before going on to recommend compensation payments of between £1,000 and £2,950.
“Keir Starmer may think he has to go through 24 hours of pain after this, and it will settle down, and it’ll be business as usual after Christmas – it will not be,” said Ms Madden. “We are not going to let this go. He will realise he has underestimated our determination.”
The Waspi group also urged MPs to force a vote on the issue in the Commons, hoping a majority view in favour of compensation would put pressure on the Government to perform a U-turn.
“We haven’t given up on the parliamentary route,” said Ms Madden. “We have support across the House, we just have to hope that they are honourable MPs and that they maintain support.”
Pension expert Tom Selby, director of public policy at AJ Bell, poured cold water over the Waspi group’s chances of overturning the decision in court.
He said the Waspi group could look at a judicial review on different grounds on the basis that the Government “ignored” the ombudsman’s recommendation of compensation.
“My view is that is unlikely to succeed,” he said. “The ombudsman can make recommendations, but it doesn’t have the legal power to enforce those recommendations. It would be really surprising to me if any court would rule that that body did [have legal power].”
Mr Selby said pushing the Government to act on PHSO recommendations “felt like the last throw of the dice”, adding: “The avenues for the campaign to get what they want have massively diminished, if not disappeared altogether.”
Sir Steve Webb, the former Liberal Democrat pension minister, also thought legal action would be unlikely to succeed, saying it was now “very unlikely there will be compensation”.
Many Labour MPs have publicly criticised the party’s decision on social media. The Conservatives have accused Labour of hypocrisy on the issue, but Kemi Badenoch’s party has not committed to compensation.
Sir Steve, now a partner at pensions firm LCP, downplayed the chance that a majority of MPs could get the Government to change its mind or force the set-up of a compensation scheme.
“It’s one thing saying, ‘We don’t like this’. But trying to get everyone to agree on compensation is different, particularly given the large sums involved. So passing something like a private members’ bill [on compensation] would seem incredibly difficult.”
Waspi women offered only a lukewarm response to the idea of legal action against the Government.
Julie Hince, a 65-year-old forced to sell a 50 per cent share of her house to get by, said: “I’d welcome it [legal action]. I still hope pressure can be put on the Government. I think it’s worth fighting for.”
Rosie Dickson, a 67-year-old campaigner from Glasgow, added: “I’m open to the legal option. But there is the famous line – nobody wins except the lawyers.
“The longer the can is kicked down the road the more of my peers are dying. We shouldn’t have to go to the courts.”
The Government has been approached for comment.
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