ANAS Sarwar has been branded “weak” after Scottish Secretary Ian Murray spoke out against him on calls for compensation for Waspi women.
Last March, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) published a report calling for compensation of between £1000 and £2950 per person due to the UK government’s failures in communicating changes in the state pension age to women born in the 1950s.
While in opposition, Labour figures including now-Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed pledges backing the call for compensation – but in power have refused to offer anything more than an apology.
Earlier this week, the PHSO accused Labour of “undermining” their powers as an ombudsman by failing to pay out – and the SNP announced that they would table a bill at Westminster looking to force the UK Government to do so.
The vote, which will take place next Tuesday, is expected to present a test for those on Starmer’s backbenches who are uncomfortable with the refusal to compensate Waspi women – not least Scottish Labour MPs.
Their nominal leader, Sarwar has said that the UK Government was “wrong” not to provide compensation – and his MSP group this week supported calls from Holyrood for a pay out.
However, Scottish Secretary Murray – who treads the line between being in Scottish Labour and being in the UK Government – has said the decision not to pay compensation was the right one.
Speaking to ITV Border on Thursday, he said: “The bottom line here is that we said in the run up to the election that we would look at the ombudsman's report.
“It's very clear that we need to be clear with the pensioners, particularly Waspi women, what this report was about, and it was about the 28-month delay and some women not receiving a letter from the DWP back in 2004.
“So these are difficult and regrettable decisions. We fully understand that Waspi women in particular are very angry and frustrated about it, but it's a judgment call we had to make, and I think we made the right one.”
Asked about Sarwar’s claim that compensation was morally required, Murray repeated his answer that “the right decision’s been made”.
Responding to Murray’s comments, SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said: “Anas Sarwar wants to lead Scotland, but can’t even lead his own MPs.”
He added: “Weak. Weak. Weak.”
Earlier on Thursday, Flynn had spoken to the BBC about his plans to force a vote on Waspi compensation at Westminster.
Flynn said: “So on Tuesday, what we'll be doing, what I'll be doing is bringing forward a bill to the House of Commons which would impose upon the UK Secretary of State the provision that they have to provide compensation and put that before Parliament for the Waspi women.
“Of course, as we know, prior to Christmas, the Secretary of State, the Labour Secretary of State announced that she would be betraying the women that she'd once signed a pledge card to support.
“Now I believe and others in Parliament believe that if you make a promise to people, then you should follow through on that.
“So I'm going to use the parliamentary procedure that's available to us in order to bring that vote before parliament.
“I've already gained support for that from Labour MPs, Tory MPs, LibDem MPs, MPs right across the political spectrum.
“I'm hoping that we're going to receive more support from more Labour MPs to make sure that we finally put some pressure on the UK Government, this Labour Government to do the right thing.”
