WASPI campaigners have welcomed Andy Burnham's support, as the Greater Manchester mayor pledged to "stick by" them. Mr Burnham raised the issue during a hustings hosted by the Manchester Evening News on Wednesday, as he campaigns ahead of next week's Makerfield by-election.
He showed his support for a substantial compensation package for Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi), in a move that could cost the Treasury more than £10.5 billion. Taking aim at Keir Starmer, the mayor of Greater Manchester said he was uncomfortable with politicians who back campaign groups in opposition only to abandon them once in Government.
The Prime Minister is under fire after the government ruled out payouts to over 3.5 million women affected by the pension age scandal. He rejected an independent watchdog's call to award between £1,000 and £2,950 to 1950s-born women because of maladministration.
"I have long supported the campaign. And I feel uncomfortable when politicians were all holding up that sort of banner and then it got into government and didn't do anything," Mr Burnham said. "So I stick by the campaigns that I support. I stuck by the Hillsborough families. I'll stick by the WASPI women because they deserve some recompense for the unfairness."
Angela Madden, chair of the WASPI campaign group, said Burnham's continued support was "hugely refreshing". She added: "While some politicians have broken their promises, it takes real courage to speak out and say what millions of people across the country and hundreds of MPs from all parties already know - that 1950s-born women deserve justice. The Parliamentary Ombudsman has been clear that compensation is owed and should be paid without delay. All that is missing now is the political will to deliver it."
However, Reform UK's Rob Kenyon expressed doubt over Burnham's commitment. "About the WASPI Women, there were a lot of Labour politicians behind that campaign, but as soon as they got in office, they dropped it like a bad habit," he said at Wednesday's hustings. "So let's not forget that it was Labour that let the WASPI Women down."
Burnham's latest pledge has fuelled concerns over another Labour spending splurge. Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott said on X: "It is implausible and wrongheaded to be even raising the spectre of funding this type of stuff given the fiscal situation. We spent £300 billion in Covid, and £40 billion on energy bill support (Labour were calling for us to spend more!), national debt as a share of GDP went up from 79% to 95%. Since coming into office Labour have ramped up spending, debt has gone up by £250 billion. We spend more on debt interest than we do on defence and schools COMBINED. Even Labour's current spending plans show public services being cut at the end of the spending review period. Does Andy Burnham seriously want to give WASPI women money rather than schools? This is also why letting the welfare spend balloon is so irresponsible. It has a direct impact on public services spending."
Last night Mr Burnham also criticised the treatment of young people by Westminster, saying they were "targeted for cuts" through the student loans system. "I look at what's happening, people graduate now, they pay off, well they think they're paying off, but the loan is actually getting bigger," he said. "It's unbelievable how national politics has treated young people."
Pressure has been mounting on the government to reform the student loans system. The current debate has focused on the millions of students from England and Wales who have taken out a "plan 2" loan. Many have money taken from their monthly wages to repay their debt, but what they pay off is often dwarfed by the increasing interest added every month, which means the sums they owe get bigger. Burnham went on to say: "You cannot have a strong society where you make young people the target for cuts, the next generation. You have got to make them the priority for investment."
