13 000 WASPI women in Ayrshire should know that Labour and Conservative candidates do not support their claim – the SNP does

Ayrshire’s roughly 13 000 WASPI women who have been cheated out of their pension rights, forcing many to work on into older age, burned out, often caring for elderly and sick parents, denied time with grandchildren and becoming sick themselves, have for years now asked the UK Government to offer a little compensation for those losses.

On 30th April 2024, in the Scottish Parliament, the First Minister, Humza Yousaf of the SNP, tabled a motion calling for the UK Government, which is responsible for pensions, to pay compensation in full.

All of the 63 SNP and all of the Scottish Green Party, Lib Dem and Alba MSPs voted in favour.

Shamefully, all of the 31 UK Conservative and 21 UK Labour MSPs in the Scottish Parliament, sat on their hands and abstained, did not vote. Why did they do that? It’s because they are only members of the Scottish branch of a UK Party based in London and had been told to do just that by their bosses. Rishi Sunak, the Conservative Leader, and Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour Leader are opposed to spending the money on the WASPI women but happy to see far more spent on vanity projects and dubious contracts for their friends.

Earlier this year, the former leader of the SNP, Nicola Sturgeon, was clear that SNP support for proper compensation is firm, when she said:

These women are being robbed of their pensions. “We should all demand justice for them.”

Source: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/votes-and-motions/S6M-13041

21 thoughts on “13 000 WASPI women in Ayrshire should know that Labour and Conservative candidates do not support their claim – the SNP does”

    1. Do you ever ‘feel British’, are you in Scotland? I have never felt ‘British’, my father told me a few things about the ‘British’ having served in the army, ie, the higher ranks in the ‘British’ army were cruel and barbaric.
      SCOTTISH not ‘British’.

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      3. If thou read my message properly you would have noted that I was being sarcastic…….I am a proud Scot and most definitely NOT BLOODY BRITISH..so I suggest you read messages properly before putting them down….and by the way I take exception to your nonsense!!!

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        1. May I add I only take exception to you not reading my message as sarcastic, ( wish I could delete my knee jerk reaction…sorry) not anything else you post as I usually always agree with what you say.

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  3. I await the furious reaction of the GMB Union officials who have not been slow to criticise SNP MSPs and councils for not doing enough to push for implementation of Equal Pay for women . Naturally , they will be incandescent at the cowardice of the Labour MSPs in NOT supporting the WASPI cause .

    Or will they sit on their hands - like Scottish(?) Labour do when told to by the boss in London ?

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    1. Can you maybe expand on that mj1949, because it seems that anyone new to this blog could perhaps be misled tino believing that the ‘SNP’ have been denying women ‘EQUAL PAY’ when we all know it was the LABOUR council in Glasgow who took women workers to court to DENY them equal pay, at huge cost the PUBLIC PURSE etc.
      Maybe John or others here can look into the ‘GMB union officials’ accusing the SNP of denying women ‘equal pay’ so we can see just who is behind that accusation and ‘criticism’?

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      1. Easy………..GMB Scotland secretary Gary Smith said: ‘The new council leadership has been elected on a manifesto promise to resolve all outstanding equal pay claims and it goes without saying that GMB Scotland fully expects this to be honoured as swiftly as possible.’

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          2. GMB ARE DEFRAUDING THEIR MEMBERSHIP

            this should never ever HAVE happened the GMB ARE bound by Duty To get BEST

            terms and conditions for members

            in THIS RESPECT GMB HAVE FIALED MISERABLE

            an investigation int this union treatment of women

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  4. O/T Iknow but came across this…………

    What does Scotland have

    What does Scotland have? We are only 8.3% of the UK’s population, 8.3 %! Remember!!

    32% of the land area

    61% of the sea area

    90% of the fresh water. (There is more fresh water in loch Ness than In England and

    Wales combined!)

    65% of the natural gas production

    96.5% of the crude oil production

    47% of the open cast coal production

    81% of the untapped coal reserves

    62% of the timber production

    46% of the total forest area

    92% of the hydro electric production

    40% of the wind wave and solar energy production

    60% of the dairy herd

    10% of the pig herd

    60% of fish landings

    30% of the beef herd

    20% of the sheep herd

    15% of the cereal holdings

    20% of the potato holdings

    100% of the Scottish Whisky industry.

    Then add over 70% of Gin production

    We have a…

    17 billion pound construction industry

    13 billion food and drink industry

    10 billion business services industry

    9.3 billion chemical services industry

    9.3 billion tourism industry

    7 billion financial services industry

    5 billion aerospace service industry

    4.5 billion whisky export industry

    3.1 billion life sciences industry

    Scotland still has 350 million pounds worth of textile exports

    Scotland has opened it’s first Goldmine

    We have 25% of all Europe’s wave and wind energy potential with only 1% of Europe’s population.

    The 4th Largest Financial Services in Europe, worth over £1 Trillion & a £10 Billion

    Maritime Industry.

    We have 1.5 trillion pounds – £1,500,000,000,000 worth of oil and gas reserves.

    All of this, yet only 8.3% of The UK’s population…

    Not forgetting we have the most educated workforce in Europe with 45% of our workforce educated to degree level and more.

    I think we’ll be fine with Indy.

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    1. Wow!

      This needs putting on every animated billboard in the country. (Ordinary, static ones don’t attract the same attention as moving ones).

      Plus we really need a few Led by Donkeys type projectors and screens on vans. Maybe put one on the luxury camper van, if the SNP ever get it back…

      Maybe one for Believe in Scotland?

      I’d contribute to a fundraiser for it.

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  5. The next pension scandal. New pensioners get £200 a month more than those already retired.

    Older people who cannot work (Waspi) need to get benefits or sickness payments, in any case. They would be better on pension rights. Women were denied pension rights because they could not join companies schemes. Totally discriminated against. Cherie Blair, millionaire feminist, won the case against giving women retrospective pension rights.

    Illegal wars, tax evasion, financial fraud. Brexit, Trident, redundant weaponry, HS2, Hickley Point. Decommissioning nuclear. Wasting £Billions. Rather than education, NHS, welfare and pension rights. Westminster rules.

    Women who co habit, the majority, do not have equal rights. They have to put in a claim within a year. 1/3. There is little legal aid. It can take years and cost £Thousands. Abused women have to live in unsafe, abusive places because women do not have equal rights,

    Letting agencies demand six month rent upfront + deposit. Even from people with good credit. Affecting homelessness.

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  8. On 5 October 2017 Anas Sarwar stated, in an article on Labour List , during the time when he was standing as a candidate for the leadership in the branch office, where he failed to win , as Richard Leonard won the leadership contest in 2017:

    He , Sarwar, stated this:

    “To tackle gender inequality, I will force public sector bodies to ensure gender balance, finally give justice to WASPI women, and establish a commission to end the gender pay gap once and for all”

    Then we saw Sarwar abstain in this recent vote that the SNP tabled, in a motion calling for the UK Government, which is responsible for pensions, to pay compensation in full.…to Waspi women.

    So it seems the Labour party, via Anas Sarwar, is indeed for “Change” ….however that “Change” only amounts to a “Change of mind” by him on a former pledge that he made in 2017 but it appears only made to try to win the branch office leadership contest.

    Of course, at the time that he said that, which was in October 2017, then there was no risk of a Labour UK government being elected anytime soon…..as the GE in 2017 was in June and Theresa May and her Tory party won via a minority….so Anas Sarwar did what he always does….as in makes many promises and pledges but once there is a whiff of any power for Labour HQ ,as many are touting is the case, in the forthcoming UK GE (and thus they , Labour HQ , being then made liable to fulfil these supposed pledges to Waspi women)…..then HQ got him, Sarwar, telt ….as in telt to abstain….on something he formerly stated that he would “ensure” he would see happen in that “he would force public sector bodies to finally give justice to Waspi women”……so did he have a lapse of memory or a “Change” of heart re what he formerly (supposedly passionately) promised that he personally would ensure he would “force public bodies” to fulfil to “finally see justice” for Waspi women.…or was that just (more) empty promises from him….all to try to win him the branch office leadership election.

    In this article he also stated “across the UK we have a callous Tory government”….yet in him voting to abstain in this vote does that then mean that he and his branch office Labour colleagues, who all voted together with the (callous) Tory MSP’s to abstain on this, are then also, as a party, to be regarded as “callous” too in doing this ?

    It is also strange that he, in this article, also noted ending the gender pay gap as we all remember how Labour were once in charge of Glasgow council and fought against paying the women of Glasgow council equal pay.…..as in what he, Sarwar, said in “ending the gender pay gap”…so why then did neither Labour branch office nor indeed Labour HQ not intervene in this and demand that the Glasgow Labour council act on this….. as in pay the women in Glasgow council equal pay……why indeed.

    So this was , in this article , Sarwar making pledges as part of his leadership campaign, just like his boss at HQ Keir Starmer who also made pledges in his leadership campaign…..which also as pledges have all fallen by the wayside too….I sense a pattern here.….Sarwar of course could use the excuse that, unlike Starmer, he did not win the leadership election in 2017, but that is no excuse really as he is now the Labour leader of the branch office and thus he was given an opportunity in this vote to vote FOR something that he formerly said he was committed to seeing being done …..so basically he has broken his former pledge, in 2017, that he made to see that Waspi women would finally get justice ! (that’s a red flag right there…another one).

    All of this should be a warning to the people in Scotland….where Labour have a habit of not ‘putting their money where their mouth is”..…and where, it seems for them that ‘talk is cheap’ when they always fail to act upon matters that they formerly said that they would implement or would ensure would materialise under a Labour government ………perhaps because he, Sarwar did not win in 2017, he then thought it unnecessary to continue to (pretend) to support the Waspi women…..or maybe it is really a case of Labour HQ are the ones in charge of the Labour party….and Sarwar just follows orders……which for Scotland kind of makes them Labour, as a branch office (and others too), somewhat , as a party, both obsolete and pointless…..but then we all knew that anyway….as in if you vote for a Labour candidate in a UK GE in Scotland, if elected, they will only work for and on behalf of Labour HQ and Scotland will be expected to , like Sarwar, do what it’s telt by that Labour HQ !

    I mean what actually is Labour for ? (still , it seems, a valid and unanswered question)

    …….though the answer for Scotland would be NOWT !

    NMRN

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    1. * “he would force public sector bodies to finally give justice to Waspi women”…

      should be…. 

      he would see that there would “finally be justice given to Waspi women”

      Ignore also in my above comment any other ‘public sector bodies’ reference in context of Waspi women….as quote by him was just getting justice for them not via public sector bodies…. LOL

      Assuming anyone reads my comment that is…..also LOL

      NMRN

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  9. Pingback: Scots Wha Hae a’ the evidence? – Talking-up Scotland / Facts on NHS, Crime, ferries and everything else you can think of

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