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May 13, 2016
Mhairi Black becomes founding member of new Parliamentary group on State Pension Inequality
Mhairi Black has joined MPs from across the House of Commons to form a new Parliamentary group on the State Pension Age. The new group will support those women hit by the acceleration of the equalisation of the State Pension Age, first in 1995 and then in 2011.
In Paisley and Renfrewshire South, according to the independent House of Commons Library, around 3,810 women are directly affected by the 2011 Pensions Act alone. 366 local residents signed the e-petition calling for transitional arrangements, which received almost 200,000 signatures nationwide.
The Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign works to lobby the Government to introduce transitional arrangements for those women affected, many of whom were not notified about the changes, and took early retirement, leaving them without any income.
The Parliamentary Group, which was launched at the Palace of Westminster on Wednesday 11th May at a standing room only meeting, will be co-chaired by MPs from each of the parties, including Mhairi, and will work closely with the WASPI campaign.
The All-Party Group will seek to work with the new Work and Pensions Secretary, Stephen Crabb, to introduce transitional arrangements.
Speaking after the launch of the new campaign group, Mhairi said:
“I am completely delighted to be a co-chair of the WASPI APPG. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to attend the launch as I was speaking on another pensions issue in the chamber, but I am looking forward to attending meetings going forward and working to find a resolution to the hardship faced by these women.
“We are not seeking to apportion blame to anybody. We simply want to get the best outcome for these women, many of whom have worked hard for decades without taking a penny out of the system.
“I am therefore proud to be a founding member of this new Parliamentary campaign group. I hope that the new Work and Pensions Secretary will be receptive to our concerns, and that we will soon have the equitable outcome that the WASPI women deserve.”
