The Solent Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) Group is delighted to announce they have a new banner created by local artist, Mandy Webb. The banner was presented to them at a social event in Portsmouth on 13th August.
Solent WASPI Coordinator, Shelagh Simmons, said,
“Banners form an important historical part of any campaign – from the Women’s Suffrage to Trades Union movements – and ours is no exception. Mandy’s will complement our existing banners, each of which tell part of our Solent WASPI story.
“We greatly admire Mandy’s work and feel privileged she has chosen to honour us in this way.”
A nod to the Suffragettes
The banner is in the official WASPI Campaign colour purple. It features the WASPI logo together with the names of every area represented by the Solent group, including the Isle of Wight. The banner-carrying figures are a nod to the Suffragettes.
Mandy commented,
“It has been an honour to have been asked to make a banner for the Solent WASPI women. Even through the pandemic, we were able to communicate all the ideas through technology and by sending painted swatches through the post.
“I look forward to seeing them carrying the banner with their determination for highlighting their fight and getting the justice they all deserve. I am extremely proud to have been asked to create this piece, a piece of Herstory.”
Solent WASPI’s new banner comes at an important moment in our campaign for State Pension justice. There have been years of lobbying. We have made mass complaints to the Department for Work and Pensions about lack of notice of life-impacting State Pension entitlement changes. And there have been delays, not of our making, along the way.
Ombudsman found Maladministration
Now, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) has concluded Stage One of his investigation. His report confirmed what we have always known – there was Maladministration in the way the SP equalisation policy was implemented. And despite knowing many women were unaware of the changes, the Government chose to do nothing about it.
WASPI has welcomed the findings and now looks forward to the next stage of the investigation which will consider what injustice may have resulted from the Maladministration. The third stage could recommend remedial action, including compensation.
Simmons: Some MPs have clearly missed the point
There is still a long way to go, but Shelagh Simmons says the initial findings are a landmark moment in the campaign,
“It’s fitting that Mandy’s banner is ready at this pivotal moment for us. Members nationally and locally are now sending letters to their MPs asking for their support following the Ombudsman’s findings. But it is disappointing that in their replies, some MPs have clearly missed the point that our complaint is not about the policy of equalisation, or its legality. It is about the process itself.
“Anything else is merely a smokescreen. We ask those MPs to read the report carefully in the context of our campaign about Maladministration by the DWP, which the Ombudsman agrees took place.
“To be clear, we have never objected to State Pension age equalisation. We have never challenged its legality. And we have never asked for women’s SPa to go back to sixty.”
Support from MPs
Isle of Wight MP, Bob Seely, has previously supported the WASPI Campaign and Solent WASPI hopes that will continue.
In a message to Solent WASPI, APPG co-chair, Andrew Gwynne MP, said,
“…thank you for the work that you are doing. It has been a long and tough road, but with these initial findings we are one step closer to getting justice. The focus now turns to putting pressure on the Government to recognise successive DWP Maladministration and urging them to give 1950s-born women the compensation that is so overdue.
“I would also like to say a massive thank you to Mandy Webb for creating the new Solent WASPI banner. It’s such a lovely way to honour the hard work that you’ve all been putting in.
“The APPG and I are proud to stand by WASPI women, and we will keep fighting with you for a fair solution to this injustice. 1950s-born women have been ignored for far too long. Keep stinging. All the best, Andrew.”
Congratulations from Dame Bakewell
And from another staunch supporter, Dame Joan Bakewell, who has compared WASPI women with the Suffragettes,
“Congratulations to all WASPI women for having got this far….as you well deserve. And also, to Mandy Webb for finding the time and talent to create such a banner.”
Members and supporters of Solent WASPI will be invited to sign the back of the banner as a permanent record of their part in our campaign. The banner will be taken around the Solent region – including the Isle of Wight, where thousands of women are affected – so that as many members/supporters as possible will have an opportunity to see it and make their mark too.
News shared by Shelagh on behalf of Solent WASPI. Ed
