KEIR Starmer has been asked “how many more Waspi women have to die” before they are given full financial compensation.
Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) have advocated for support for women who were born in the 1950s and say they did not get adequate warnings about changes to the state pension.
Speaking at PMQs, MP for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey Graham Leadbitter grilled Starmer on compensation for the women.
He said: “A Waspi women dies every 13 minutes. That’s two since the Prime Minister took to the despatch box today.
“That’s 111 every day and nearly 17,000 since he took office. So can I ask the Prime Minister, how many more Waspi women have to die before the Government takes action to give them the financial redress and the justice they are due.”
We told last month how Starmer said Waspi women could potentially hear an update about state pension compensation “in the not too distant future”.
Today @Keir_Starmer appeared to just shrug off the fact that 17,000 #WASPI women have died since he took office. He needs to accept that his govt’s dither and delay has real costs. Thank you to @GrahamSNP for the question. pic.twitter.com/WSupULWhfx
— #WASPI Campaign (@WASPI_Campaign) December 4, 2024
In his response to Leadbitter, the PM said: “We are moving at pace on all relevant issues. We passed the Budget to provide the baseline for what we need and we’ll continue to do so.”
Leadbitter has previously shown his support for Waspi women, having previously raised concerns that the UK Government could be set to “sideline” campaigners.
Transport Secretary questions
Starmer also ignored calls to provide further details on why Louise Haigh resigned as transport secretary over a fraud offence before she became an MP.
The Prime Minister declined to elaborate on what “further information came to light”, despite being repeatedly pressed by Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch to explain why he “knowingly appointed a convicted fraudster” to his Cabinet.
Badenoch joked the country needs “conviction politicians, not politicians with convictions”.
Haigh resigned last week after it emerged she had pleaded guilty to a criminal offence related to incorrectly telling police that a work mobile phone was stolen in 2013.
It is understood the incident was disclosed to Starmer when she joined the shadow cabinet.
Speaking at PMQs, Starmer said Haigh’s (below) decision to resign was a “marked contrast” from the behaviour of the Tories over the last 14 years.
Badenoch told the session: “The Prime Minister talks about immigration, I think it’s probably a good time to remind him that he was the one writing letters asking us not to deport foreign criminals, and he and his party voted against every single measure that we put in place to try and limit immigration.
“But the question today is what has been on the lips of all Labour MPs, including, I believe, the Health Secretary [Wes Streeting] yesterday – the Prime Minister knowingly appointed a convicted fraudster to be his transport secretary. What was he thinking?”
He replied: “The previous transport secretary was right, when further information came forward, to resign – what a marked contrast from behaviour in the last 14 years.
“And she talks about immigration, record levels of immigration under the previous government, nearly a million, and she was the cheerleader, she was the one urging on the removal of the caps for work visas, she was thanking the previous home secretary for the work that was done.
“She championed it. She advocated it. Record numbers of immigration.”
Badenoch accused Starmer of “obfuscating,” adding: “But I’m going to keep him on the topic. He owes the House an explanation, he said that the former transport secretary was only asked to resign after further information came to light. What was that further information?”
The Prime Minister replied: “I’m not going to disclose private information. Further information came to light, the (transport) secretary resigned, as I say, what a marked contrast.
“Whilst she’s obsessing with the Westminster issues, we’re getting on with fixing the mess, fixing foundations, that £22 billion black hole, our prisons bursting.
“As we found out last week, nearly a million net migration numbers, because of the Tory open borders policy.”
Badenoch said: “He never answers any questions and it looks like he didn’t ask his transport secretary any questions either.
“The truth is he appointed a person convicted of fraud to the Cabinet. The first thing she did was bung hundreds of millions of pounds in pay rises to her trade union friends.
“Wasn’t this a fraud on the British people?”
Starmer replied: “No, and she says she’s not talking about immigration – I’m not surprised. I’d advise her and all of them not to talk about the economy or immigration for another five years.”
Badenoch added: “He can try and change the topic as much as he likes but the public are watching. He owes them an explanation.
“The country needs conviction politicians, not politicians with convictions.”
Starmer later said: “I gently remind her that two of her predecessors had convictions for breaking the Covid rules.”
Boris Johnson (above) became the first prime minister to receive a criminal penalty while in office, over partygate, when he, his wife, and the then-chancellor – and later prime minister – Rishi Sunak received £50 fixed-penalty notices from Scotland Yard for attending the bash.
Fixed penalty notices are considered a criminal sanction but not a criminal conviction.
The Prime Minister later joked that Badenoch’s rivals are relaunching their leadership bids as he accused the Conservatives of displaying their “madness” by seeking a return to power.
