When a small contingent of Chorley WASPI supporters met with our local MP in March 2017, whilst fully supportive of our cause, he warned us that nothing would happen to resolve our issues unless there was a General Election and that was, according to Mrs Maybe, not on the cards. A bleak, but not disparaging opinion from the Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle MP and I don't think even he could have have imagined just how soon the GE2017 snap election would occur, if at all!
Why a General Election? Because he was of the opinion that for Mrs Mayhem and her cronies, my words, not his, a declaration by them of support for the WASPI ladies could be a potential vote winner and may well be a significant part of the Tory manifesto. To date, so far as I am aware, this has not been the case and we are still being ignored by the majority of Tory MPs.
On the other hand, however, the Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn MP, has publicly stated that, Labour will listen to our voices and make every effort to help us to win back what is rightfully ours - our pensions.
As it happened, Labour did not win the GE2017, not least because of the deliberate twisting of words by the establishment controlled media, who sought to sow the seeds of doubt in the minds of those of lesser intelligence with a view to swaying them into tactical voting, or into bringing back the worst Conservative government for generations. This has led to more austerity, more cuts to public services, a death knell for the NHS, the rise of a brutal regime and many, many deaths of innocent people in our country, young and old.
Are we living in a Democracy or a Dictatorship? I, for one, for the first time in my life, voted Labour because I sincerely believed, and still do, that they can redress the balance and bring about a fairer society.
But, the worst case scenario played out and the Tories remained in power. Where does that leave the WASPI women in 2018?
Assuming that there is nothing on the table for us and they still won't listen to us, then we will have to see them in Court. Bindmans, our lawyers, are preparing a case against the Department for Work and Pension (DWP) for maladministration over their failure to notify us of changes to our State Pension Age. They have a good case, but will need our help to achieve a satisfactory outcome and the most important elements in any court situation are evidence and money. Without evidence there is no case to defend and without money there can be no trial.
Assuming that there is nothing on the table for us and they still won't listen to us, then we will have to see them in Court. Bindmans, our lawyers, are preparing a case against the Department for Work and Pension (DWP) for maladministration over their failure to notify us of changes to our State Pension Age. They have a good case, but will need our help to achieve a satisfactory outcome and the most important elements in any court situation are evidence and money. Without evidence there is no case to defend and without money there can be no trial.
WASPI ladies have been portrayed by certain parts of the media as greedy, money grabbing, banner raising, flag waving old ladies with nothing better to do, but that is far from true. There are 3.8 million of us and some of us have been quietly playing our part and gathering the very important evidence that will help Bindmans fight a successful case.
But....and there is a BUT....I don't believe that ANY government will be in a position to replace our stolen pensions in full and hand it to us on a silver platter! It would cost too much and even we WASPIs are supportive of equalisation with men for our State Pension Age.
My best guess it that IF any arrangements are agreed in principal then it will not be a "free for all" solution. It could be a case of "first come..first served". There will probably be restrictions and qualifications for everyone and it will be up to us to make individual claims for compensation. We will need to prove that we are deserving of any money we are claiming and that we have taken reasonable steps to highlight our individual circumstances and attempted to seek resolution ourselves, which brings me back to "evidence". We will need to show evidence of individually pro-actively seeking redress.
This is why it is important that ALL women affected by the changes in legislation who wish to be adequately compensated should as of now be writing to the DWP, stating their cases and requesting the same. I really do think that it will be a case of "if you don't ask, you won't receive".
This is why the WASPI movement is so important. The WASPI website at waspi.co.uk has a wealth of information and guidance that is publicly available on how best to approach the DWP with template letters that anyone with access to a computer can do for themselves.
It can be soul-destroying and disheartening to feel that you are trying to take on the world by yourself. This is why joining WASPI and becoming a member of your local group is so important. We are here to help you take on the establishment by giving you guidance and practical assistance in preparing your letters which, after all, could be the key to unlocking your individual pensions, or part of, sooner rather than later.
Also, by signing up as a paid up member of WASPI, even if you do nothing else, your money will help to pay for the Court action.
Please don't wait for other people to do what you know you should do for yourself. Don't sit back and expect positive results without being prepared to take personal action. JOIN US and be part of our campaign. Make new friends and gain the support you need to secure your future. Join us at http://waspi.co.uk/membership and find your local WASPI Group by searching the Directory which is available at http://waspi.co.uk/local-groups
Photo credits: Reportuk.org, Enprotothema.gr, Article.wn.com, BoltonLabourHultonWard.co.uk
