Overview
- Andy Burnham told a Manchester hustings on Wednesday that he would back substantial compensation for Women Against State Pension Inequality campaigners and “stick by” them.
- The pledge directly contrasts with the Labour government’s repeated public refusal to pay the Ombudsman‑recommended amount for women affected by the rise in state pension age.
- Birmingham Live reported that WASPI women have been told the Department for Work and Pensions may now pay the £2,950 per person set out by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, a development that is not independently confirmed in other sources.
- Mr Burnham’s intervention raises the political stakes ahead of the Makerfield by‑election by sharpening internal Labour tensions and fuelling speculation about the timing of a leadership challenge if he returns to Westminster.
- The Ombudsman recommended £2,950 payments two years ago for roughly 3.5–3.8 million women who say they were not properly informed about the state pension age change, a remedy that campaigners say would cost the public purse billions and would directly affect millions of retirees.