Dear Candidates for PM,

We write to ask that you commit any new government you form to resolving a long-running injustice, without further delay.

More than a year ago, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman found that the Department for Work and Pensions had been guilty of maladministration in communicating changes to the State Pension age to women born in the 1950s.

“The opportunity that additional notice would have given [women] to adjust their retirement plans was lost,” the Ombudsman found. The PHSO has since encouraged the Department for Work and Pensions to be “proactive” in finding a remedy.

Women in this age group need to see these proactive steps from government immediately. Every 14 minutes another of us dies waiting for justice. Yet our campaign is falling on deaf ears in Whitehall.

The present Pensions Minister resolutely refuses to discuss any of this with us, summarily dismissing our letters, and requests to meet from Members of Parliament.

Far from engaging us, ministers persistently and – we worry – wilfully misrepresent our position, claiming that we are seeking restitution of the State Pension age to 60, or that we wish to recoup ‘lost pensions’ in full. Media statements from government also imply that the campaign group WASPI is challenging the legality of changes to the State Pension Age.

None of these things is true. Our simple, pragmatic ask is that ministers open a dialogue with us about a one-off compensation payment to make up for the financial loss and emotional trauma caused to women born in the 1950s, as a result of the maladministration at the DWP in the period 2008-2012.

As a group of older women, who have contributed much to our country and continue to do so, we regard the present administration’s approach to us as unforgivable.

We are, however, hopeful that the next government – under whichever of you is elected by your party – will take a more constructive and respectful position. Will you commit publicly to meeting us on this issue, and to finding a fair remedy, if you are elected?

Yours,

Angela Madden, Chair and Finance Director Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI), WASPI, Coordinator Derbyshire;

Carole Archibald, WASPI Coordinator Angus;

Lynda Armstrong, WASPI Coordinator WASPI International;

Susan Bolland, WASPI Coordinator North Ayrshire;

Susan Beevers, WASPI Coordinator Northumberland;

Sandra Broadbent, WASPI Coordinator Devon;

Jane Cowley, WASPI Coordinator Northumberland;

Marianne Cowpe, WASPI Coordinator Vale of Glamorgan;

Lynne Craighead, WASPI Coordinator Scottish Borders;

Rhona Cunningham, WASPI Coordinator Fife;

Deborah Dalton, WASPI Coordinator Essex;

Debbie de Spon, WASPI Coordinator Norfolk;

Ann Edwards, WASPI Coordinator Lancashire;

Jan Egan, WASPI Coordinator West Yorkshire;

Sheila Forbes, WASPI Coordinator Moray;

Flick Foreman, WASPI Coordinator Medway and North-West Kent

Ann Fraser, WASPI Coordinator Ayrshire and Arran;

Janet Fulster, WASPI Coordinator Greater Manchester;

Ann Greer, WASPI Coordinator Argyll and Bute;

Sue Harding, WASPI Coordinator France;

Vicky Horton, WASPI Coordinator South Yorkshire;

Rosemary Jordan, WASPI Coordinator Lincolnshire;

Fiona Lintot, WASPI Coordinator Somerset;

Christine Lutley, WASPI Coordinator East Sussex;

Carol Mercer, WASPI Coordinator Cheshire;

Carol Morley, WASPI Coordinator Hertfordshire;

Judi Moss, WASPI Coordinator Suffolk;

Frances Neil, WASPI Coordinator, Essex;

Denise Neilson, WASPI Coordinator, Newcastle, Wear and Tees;

Vanda Nolan, WASPI Coordinator Staffordshire;

Delya Randall, WASPI Coordinator Denbighshire;

Jill Robertson, WASPI Coordinator Northamptonshire;

Yvonne Robinson, WASPI Coordinator Hampshire;

Gill Saul, WASPI Coordinator Brighton and Sussex;

Lorraine Scott, WASPI Coordinator Newcastle;

Karen Sheldon, WASPI Coordinator Suffolk;

Margaret Shields, WASPI Coordinator Argyll and Bute;

Shelagh Simmons, WASPI Coordinator Solent;

Carol Smith, WASPI Coordinator Devon;

Christine Smith, WASPI Coordinator Newcastle, Wear and Tees;

Anne Todd, WASPI Coordinator NE Hampshire;

Debra Wailes, WASPI Coordinator Lancashire.