For all the latest news on the CEDAWinLAW campaign on behalf of all 50sWomen, listen to :

Joanne Welch Salford City Radio interview 17 Sept 

Key points:

• CEDAWinLAW is reconsidering whether to proceed with a Judicial Review on behalf of 50sWomen 
• The legal team advises that the SoSW&P refused unlawfully reasonable invitations to attend mediation with CEDAWinLAW 
• "The weight of the evidence indicates a grave injustice to them (50sWomen)...we will robustly represent their interests” J Cooper KC 
• CEDAWinLAW invites victims to share their experiences. These will form an evidence base to illustrate to the UN the impact of the draconian policy that is designed to force older persons back to work, pay even more tax, and possibly National Insurance Contributions.                                                        Undoubtedly, 'A Christmas Carol' story to be told:
• 50sWomen:  Let CEDAWinLAW know how you have been affected by state pension age hikes and the loss of £45/50k, followed by e.g. The Winter Fuel Robbery, Pension Credit limit just below full new State Pension and the Frozen Tax Threshold. Please contact  CEDAWinLAW Facebook page 

Listen to the full interview for more details.

Many thanks to Ian Rothwell for his hospitality, yet again, on Salford City Radio

A hard winter for pensioners?

Given the announcement of the withdrawal of the Winter Fuel Payment from all but those on Pension Credit, it is going to be a very hard winter for many pensioners, especially for the 2m who are already in poverty trying to survive on a State Pension that is less than half of the National Living Wage, but many of whom are just above the limit to be able to claim pension credit, including many 50swomen

In case you missed it:

David Hencke's blog: Equality Statement reveals the scale of the nasty blow to poor and disabled women pensioners

It should be noted that an Equality Statement is not the same as an impact assessment. As one comment on X put it "Not so much an impact assessment, more of an accounting footnote". It tells us nothing about the actual impact on people's financial and physical wellbeing, or about the resilience of different groups of pensioners to be able to cope, or even the numbers of women compared to men who will be forced further into poverty and the choice between "Heat or Eat" by the measure.

The lack of an impact assessment is very familiar to 50sWomen, as none was carried out for the 1995 Pensions Act either and only a superficial one focusing more on the impact on the public purse than on the women affected in the 2011 Pensions Act

No WASPI compensation whatsoever to be offered? Or at best a "hardship fund"?

Recent statements indicate that discussions about maladministration between WASPI representatives and the new SoSW&P, which CEDAWinLAW has been excluded from, are likely to lead to no compensation whatsoever being offered to 50sWomen, with an announcement in the press:   

‘No compensation for WASPI women! Has (PM) stuck the knife into 1950s Women?’

and Paul Lewis on X "This looks like no compensation for 50s born women over state pension age rises which was recommended by Ombudsman"

Even a suggestion by an MP of a hardship fund being set up is called into doubt. The Pensions Minister recently responded to a written question about a hardship fund that "the best way to support people, including women who have been affected by the change to the State Pension Age is to help them to retrain, return to or progress in work".

Quite how the prospect of "retrain, return to or progress" in a job works for the 50sWomen affected, who are now aged between 65 and 74 and dying at the rate of 100 per day, is open to serious question.

CEDAWinLAW remains firmly committed to the contention that justice will not have been realised until 50sWomen's enforceable rights not to be discriminated against have been properly considered. Further invitations to mediation were delivered to Downing Street in August.

Is the State legally bound by the CEDAW treaty?

Answer: Yes! And what's more, ratification of the Optional Protocol (in addition to the treaty itself) by Govt provides a mechanism called a "Temporary Special Measure" which has the power to implement a financial remedy for 50sWomen

The purpose of a TSM is to "accelerate the improvement in the position of women to achieve their substantive equality with men, and to effect the structural, social and cultural changes necessary to correct past and present forms and effects of discrimination against women..."

Plenty of evidence is provided in the CEDAWinLAW Judge's Report as to why this should be followed through for 50sWomen.

Finally, as Labour Leader the new Prime Minister published a letter just before the General Election saying "I'll never betray Britain's pensioners"

Yet in  2019 the Labour Party made a £58bn mandatory undertaking to 50sWomen as 
 a so-called 'Debt of Honour'. Now seemingly no money has been set aside for this.

And the new Chancellor has made an announcement that she "wants to improve lives for women and girls across our country"

Does that include improving the lives of older women? If not, why not, and wouldn't that just be even more discrimination? 50sWomen have suffered enough through being targeted for removal of up to 6 years of pension, with no consultation, impact assessment, proper notification or targeted safety net

Please sign and share this petition if you have not already done so, and consider sending in your experiences to the CEDAWinLAW Facebook page as described above