By Kate Nicholson
Labour backbencher Rebecca Long-Bailey tore into the government鈥檚 refusal to give Waspi women compensation on Thursday, and even claimed ministers have responded like flat-Earthers.
The government decided last December not to grant a compensation package to women born in the 1950s who lost out on pension payments, when women鈥檚 state pension age was raised to be equal with men.
The decision drew major backlash at the time because ministers, including PM Keir Starmer and chancellor Rachel Reeves, had campaigned alongside Waspi 鈥 Women Against State Pension Inequality 鈥 before getting into office.
It also came after the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) advised the government to pay up to 拢2,950 each 鈥 coming to the total cost of 拢10.5 billion.
The Waspi group is now looking for a judicial review to force ministers to reconsider.
Long-Bailey, who lost against Keir Starmer in the contest to be Labour leader in 2020, called a debate on the issue this week.
She slammed the government鈥檚 approach, after work and pensions minister Torsten Bell rejected the Ombudsman鈥檚 advice.
She said: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want [Bell] to go down in history as the man who denied justice for the 1950s women, I honestly don鈥檛. I want to see action on this, and I want him to go down as the person who finally, finally managed to award them justice.
鈥淏ut at the moment, he鈥檚 got to understand that the arguments being put forward by the government are absurd, to say the least. In fact, they鈥檙e akin to somebody arguing that the world is flat, in denying the Ombudsman鈥檚 report.鈥
Bell replied: 鈥淎s honourable members and campaigners on this issue are well aware, we do not agree with the Ombudsman鈥檚 approach to injustice or to remedy.鈥