Portsmouth WASPI women to join thousands at Westminster protest after retirement plans "thrown into chaos"

The demonstration, led by Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI), is scheduled for Wednesday, October 30, from midday to 3pm in Parliament Square, aligning with the Chancellor’s Budget announcement.

Local campaigners, some travelling by train to London, are calling for compensation, claiming they were not adequately informed about changes that delayed their State Pension age by up to six years.

The campaign centres on what many see as a failure by successive governments to properly communicate pension age increases, leaving some women with as little as 18 months’ notice before the change took effect. Campaigners say this lack of notification disrupted retirement plans and has driven tens of thousands into poverty.

In March 2024, following a lengthy investigation, the Parliamentary Ombudsman concluded that the government mishandled the communication of these changes. The Ombudsman called for swift compensation for the more than 3.6m women affected across the UK, but ministers have yet to respond, despite widespread support in Parliament from both Conservative and Labour MPs.

Shelagh Simmons, the local WASPI group co-ordinator, explained the impact on Portsmouth residents: “Thousands of women in Portsmouth had their retirement plans thrown into chaos after successive governments failed to properly inform them of increases to their state pension age.

“The Parliamentary Ombudsman delivered clear recommendations more than six months ago, calling on ministers to fairly compensate those affected as soon as possible. With one WASPI women tragically dying every 13 minutes, ministers must urgently step in to make sure justice is finally delivered. We simply cannot afford to wait any longer.”

Ms Simmons added that MPs Stephen Morgan (Portsmouth South) and Amanda Martin (Portsmouth North) have shown ongoing support for the campaign. Around 9,160 women in Portsmouth are estimated to be affected. Those wishing to find out more about the campaign can contact [email protected].