Landmark lights up in purple in support of Waspi campaign

Portsmouth Guildhall lit up on Saturday night in support of the Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) campaign.

As part of a week celebrating women, including International Women’s Day last Thursday, buildings across the country turned purple.

Supporters from the Solent Waspi branch went to Guildhall Square to spread their message and speak to the public.

The campaign is calling for fair transitional payments for all women born in the 1950s who have been affected by increases to the state pension age.

The group says the changes made by the government were introduced with little, or no notice and many women are unaware they have been affected.

Shelagh Simmons and Carolyne Jacobs, are joint co-ordinators of Solent Waspi.

They said: ‘We already have the backing of Portsmouth City Council so we are delighted that Portsmouth Cultural Trust, which runs Guildhall, has lit up one of our city’s most iconic buildings.

‘It is a signal to the 10,000 women in Portsmouth and the 3.8m women nationwide, that the campaign goes on to secure compensation for those who had their pension dates changed with very little notice.’

The Waspi campaign started in 2015 and has gained support from public figures and MPs.