Women hit by pension age changes could impact general election, say experts
Women hit by the state pension age rise could alter the result of the forthcoming general election, say experts.
The increase from age 60 to 66 has affected nearly 4 million women, in some cases causing homelessness and destitution.
Campaigners argue the amendments unlawfully discriminate against females born in the 1950s.
Women affected by the increase lost their landmark High Court battle against the government last month but have applied for permission to appeal.
Polling experts and campaigners told The Independent women bearing the brunt of the overhaul could have a substantial impact on the outcome of the 12 December election.
Joanne Welch, founder of Backto60, said women are saying they will lend their vote to candidates who roll back the changes.
1/50 13 March 2020
Runners and riders compete in the JCB Triumph Hurdle during day four of the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse. Thousands of people attended where Gold Cup day amid great uncertainty as sports events up and down the United Kingdom are postponed and cancelled due to the Coronavirus outbreak
PA Images via Reuters Connect
2/50 12 March 2020
A worker makes her way along rows of daffodils, removing any rogue varieties, at Taylors Bulbs in Holbeach, Lincolnshire. The fourth generation family company plant over 35 million bulbs every year, and have held The Royal Warrant as Bulb Growers to Her Majesty The Queen since 1985
3/50 11 March 2020
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak poses for pictures with the Budget Box outside 11 Downing Street ahead of Britain’s first post-Brexit budget
4/50 10 March 2020
A Tate Modern gallery assistant interacts with the ‘Silver Clouds’ installation, at a press view of major new Andy Warhol exhibition at Tate Modern, which features classic pop art pieces and works never shown before in the UK
5/50 9 March 2020
The Sub Dean and Canon Paster of Southwark, Canon Michael Rawson, left, blesses the statue of Santa Barbara and workers on one of the sites of the Thames Tideway Tunnel in London. Santa Barbara is the patron saint of tunnellers and by tradition a statue and shrine to her is placed at tunnel portals and the entrance to long tunnel headings to keep workers safe while underground. The 16 mile-long Thames Tideway Tunnel will prevent tens of millions of tonnes of sewage and rainwater run-off entering the river every year
6/50 8 March 2020
An Afghan Hound dog is prepared for show at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre (NEC) during the final day of the Crufts Dog Show
7/50 7 March 2020
People taking part in the Million Women Rise march through central London, to demand an end to male violence against women and girls in all its forms
8/50 6 March 2020
Crew members take a selfie beside the cab of The Flying Scotswoman, the LNER Edinburgh to London rail service which has an all-female crew to celebrate International Women’s Day, before it departs Edinburgh Waverley station
9/50 5 March 2020
A poodle arrives for the first day of Crufts 2020 in Birmingham
Jason Skarratt/Flick.digital
10/50 4 March 2020
An Emergency Department Nurse during a demonstration of the Coronavirus pod and Covid-19 virus testing procedures set-up beside the Emergency Department of Antrim Area Hospital in Northern Ireland
PA
11/50 3 March 2020
A pedestrian wears a protective facemask while taking a bus in Westminster, London, on the day that Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that the number of people diagnosed with coronavirus in the UK has risen to 51
PA
12/50 2 March 2020
An artist at Madame Tussauds in London fits the museum’s waxwork of Prime Minister Boris Johnson with a baby carrier, following the recent announcement that he is expecting a baby with partner Carrie Symonds
PA
13/50 1 March 2020
A man dressed as Dewi Sant leads the St David’s day parade in Cardiff, where hundreds of people march through the city in celebration of the patron saint of Wales. Dewi Sant (Saint David in English) was the Welsh bishop of Mynyw (now St Davids) during the 6th century
PA
14/50 29 February 2020
A home flooded after the River Aire burst its banks in East Cowick, East Yorkshire
Getty
15/50 28 February 2020
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg takes part in a “Youth Strike 4 Climate” protest march in Bristol, south west England. “Activism works, so I ask you to act,” she said
AFP/Getty
16/50 27 February 2020
Campaigners cheer outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London after they won a Court of Appeal challenge against controversial plans for a third runway at Heathrow
PA
17/50 26 February 2020
Temporary barriers have been overwhelmed by flood water in Bewdley, Shropshire
Getty
18/50 25 February 2020
Players take part in the Atherstone Ball Game in Warwickshire. The game honours a match played between Leicestershire and Warwickshire in 1199, when teams used a bag of gold as a ball, and which was won by Warwickshire
PA
19/50 24 February 2020
A couple shelter from waves crashing over the promenade in Folkestone, Kent, as bad weather continues to cause problems across the country
PA
20/50 23 February 2020
Viking re-enactors during the Jorvik Viking Festival in York, recognised as the largest event of its kind in Europe
PA
21/50 22 February 2020
Former Greek Finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and editor in chief of WikiLeaks Kristinn Hrafnsonn attend a protest against the extradition of Julian Assange outside the Australian High Commission in London
Reuters
22/50 21 February 2020
A worker recovers stranded vehicles from flood water on the A761 in Paisley, Scotland
Getty
23/50 20 February 2020
Police officers outside Regents Park mosque in central London after a man was reportedly been stabbed in the neck. Footage from the scene showed a young white man in a red hooded top being led from the mosque by police
Reuters
24/50 19 February 2020
Floodwaters surround Upton upon Seven following Storm Dennis
Getty Images
25/50 18 February 2020
Models on the catwalk during the Bobby Abley show at London Fashion Week
PA
26/50 17 February 2020
Rachel Cox inspecting flood damage in her kitchen in Nantgarw, south Wales, where residents are returning to their homes to survey and repair the damage in the aftermath of Storm Dennis
PA
27/50 16 February 2020
Teme Street in Tenbury Wells is seen under floodwater from the overflowing River Teme, after Storm Dennis caused flooding across large swathes of Britain
AFP via Getty
28/50 15 February 2020
Models present creations at the Richard Quinn catwalk show during London Fashion Week in London
Reuters
29/50 14 February 2020
Climate change protesters march through Whitehall, London
PA
30/50 13 February 2020
Resigned as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mr Javid’s departure comes just one month before a crucial budget, intended to chart the course for the new government – and makes him the shortest-serving chancellor for more than 50 years
EPA
31/50 12 February 2020
Hill farmer Tommy Aitchison from North Shortcleugh farm feeds his sheep in Elvanfoot, Scotland. A yellow warning for snow and ice remains in place across most of Scotland, police have reported a number of crashes across the region with many routes affected by snow and ice
Getty
32/50 11 February 2020
Robyn Peoples, left, 26, and Sharni Edwards, 27, at the Loughshore Hotel, in Carrickfergus, after they became the first couple to have a same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland
PA
33/50 10 February 2020
Waves crash over a lorry on Blackpool waterfront as weather warnings for wind, snow and ice have been issued across large parts of the country. A day after the UK is trying to recover from the battering from Storm Ciara
PA
34/50 9 February 2020
Residents attempt to remove water from their property as the streets flood in Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria, as Storm Ciara hits the UK
PA
35/50 8 February 2020
England’s Ellis Genge celebrates scoring the first try of their Six Nations match against Scotland with teammates. The weather at Murrayfield Stadium hampered the playing conditions, with winds and rain from Storm Ciara approaching the UK. The away side won the match late on, with the scoreline ending 6-13
Reuters
36/50 7 February 2020
Activists surround a wooden trojan horse in the courtyard of the British Museum in London. The horse, which is 4 metres tall and can seat 10 people inside, was pulled in by a group of supporters with flags reading “BP Must Fall”
BP or not BP/PA
37/50 6 February 2020
Members of the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme team examine a dead whale that died after becoming stranded in the Thames estuary at Medway over the weekend
PA
38/50 5 February 2020
Children from Oaklands Secondary School in Bethnal Green and Families Belong Together campaigners in Westminster before handing a petition in to the Home Office, as they call on the government to amend the UK’s refugee family reunion laws
PA
39/50 4 February 2020
Rasputin the polar bear, shakes off water as he is unveiled at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park, Doncaster
PA
40/50 3 February 2020
Police activity inside a cordon where a man was shot by armed police in a terrorist-related incident in Streatham, London
EPA
41/50 2 February 2020
Micheal Ward with his Rising Star Award alongside Daniel Kaluuya Baftas
Reuters
42/50 1 February 2020
Activists attend an anti-Conservative government, pro-Scottish independence, and anti-Brexit demonstration outside Holyrood, the seat of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh
AFP/Getty
43/50 31 January 2020
Pro EU supporters display a banner ‘ Here to Stay, Here to Fight, Migrants In, Tories Out’ from Westminster bridge in front of the Houses of Parliament in London. Britain officially exits the EU on 31 January, beginning an eleven month transition period
EPA
44/50 30 January 2020
Kiko the 2-year-old British Bulldog skateboarding with his owner, Ebel Perez, from Shiremoor, North Tyneside
PA
45/50 29 January 2020
British MEP’s and their assistants along with members of the political group Socialist and Democrats at a ceremony prior to the vote on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU at the European Parliament in Brussels
AP
46/50 28 January 2020
Torches are lit using a flare ahead of the Up Helly Aa Viking festival. Originating in the 1880s, the festival celebrates Shetland’s Norse heritage
PA
47/50 27 January 2020
England bowler Mark Wood is lifted aloft by Joe Root after taking the final wicket of South Africa to win the match and series during day four of the Fourth Test at Wanderers in Johannesburg
Getty
48/50 26 January 2020
Performers taking part in a parade involving costumes, lion dances and floats, during Chinese New Year celebrations in central London, which marks the Year of the Rat
PA
49/50 25 January 2020
A couple walks along the Basingstoke canal near to Dogmersfield in Hampshire
PA
50/50 24 January 2020
Boris Johnson gestures as he watches a performance during celebrations for Chinese Lunar New Year at Downing Street in London
Reuters
1/50 13 March 2020
Runners and riders compete in the JCB Triumph Hurdle during day four of the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse. Thousands of people attended where Gold Cup day amid great uncertainty as sports events up and down the United Kingdom are postponed and cancelled due to the Coronavirus outbreak
PA Images via Reuters Connect
2/50 12 March 2020
A worker makes her way along rows of daffodils, removing any rogue varieties, at Taylors Bulbs in Holbeach, Lincolnshire. The fourth generation family company plant over 35 million bulbs every year, and have held The Royal Warrant as Bulb Growers to Her Majesty The Queen since 1985
PA
3/50 11 March 2020
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak poses for pictures with the Budget Box outside 11 Downing Street ahead of Britain’s first post-Brexit budget
AFP/Getty
4/50 10 March 2020
A Tate Modern gallery assistant interacts with the ‘Silver Clouds’ installation, at a press view of major new Andy Warhol exhibition at Tate Modern, which features classic pop art pieces and works never shown before in the UK
PA
5/50 9 March 2020
The Sub Dean and Canon Paster of Southwark, Canon Michael Rawson, left, blesses the statue of Santa Barbara and workers on one of the sites of the Thames Tideway Tunnel in London. Santa Barbara is the patron saint of tunnellers and by tradition a statue and shrine to her is placed at tunnel portals and the entrance to long tunnel headings to keep workers safe while underground. The 16 mile-long Thames Tideway Tunnel will prevent tens of millions of tonnes of sewage and rainwater run-off entering the river every year
PA
6/50 8 March 2020
An Afghan Hound dog is prepared for show at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre (NEC) during the final day of the Crufts Dog Show
PA
7/50 7 March 2020
People taking part in the Million Women Rise march through central London, to demand an end to male violence against women and girls in all its forms
PA
8/50 6 March 2020
Crew members take a selfie beside the cab of The Flying Scotswoman, the LNER Edinburgh to London rail service which has an all-female crew to celebrate International Women’s Day, before it departs Edinburgh Waverley station
PA
9/50 5 March 2020
A poodle arrives for the first day of Crufts 2020 in Birmingham
Jason Skarratt/Flick.digital
10/50 4 March 2020
An Emergency Department Nurse during a demonstration of the Coronavirus pod and Covid-19 virus testing procedures set-up beside the Emergency Department of Antrim Area Hospital in Northern Ireland
PA
11/50 3 March 2020
A pedestrian wears a protective facemask while taking a bus in Westminster, London, on the day that Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that the number of people diagnosed with coronavirus in the UK has risen to 51
PA
12/50 2 March 2020
An artist at Madame Tussauds in London fits the museum’s waxwork of Prime Minister Boris Johnson with a baby carrier, following the recent announcement that he is expecting a baby with partner Carrie Symonds
PA
13/50 1 March 2020
A man dressed as Dewi Sant leads the St David’s day parade in Cardiff, where hundreds of people march through the city in celebration of the patron saint of Wales. Dewi Sant (Saint David in English) was the Welsh bishop of Mynyw (now St Davids) during the 6th century
PA
14/50 29 February 2020
A home flooded after the River Aire burst its banks in East Cowick, East Yorkshire
Getty
15/50 28 February 2020
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg takes part in a “Youth Strike 4 Climate” protest march in Bristol, south west England. “Activism works, so I ask you to act,” she said
AFP/Getty
16/50 27 February 2020
Campaigners cheer outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London after they won a Court of Appeal challenge against controversial plans for a third runway at Heathrow
PA
17/50 26 February 2020
Temporary barriers have been overwhelmed by flood water in Bewdley, Shropshire
Getty
18/50 25 February 2020
Players take part in the Atherstone Ball Game in Warwickshire. The game honours a match played between Leicestershire and Warwickshire in 1199, when teams used a bag of gold as a ball, and which was won by Warwickshire
PA
19/50 24 February 2020
A couple shelter from waves crashing over the promenade in Folkestone, Kent, as bad weather continues to cause problems across the country
PA
20/50 23 February 2020
Viking re-enactors during the Jorvik Viking Festival in York, recognised as the largest event of its kind in Europe
PA
21/50 22 February 2020
Former Greek Finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and editor in chief of WikiLeaks Kristinn Hrafnsonn attend a protest against the extradition of Julian Assange outside the Australian High Commission in London
Reuters
22/50 21 February 2020
A worker recovers stranded vehicles from flood water on the A761 in Paisley, Scotland
Getty
23/50 20 February 2020
Police officers outside Regents Park mosque in central London after a man was reportedly been stabbed in the neck. Footage from the scene showed a young white man in a red hooded top being led from the mosque by police
Reuters
24/50 19 February 2020
Floodwaters surround Upton upon Seven following Storm Dennis
Getty Images
25/50 18 February 2020
Models on the catwalk during the Bobby Abley show at London Fashion Week
PA
26/50 17 February 2020
Rachel Cox inspecting flood damage in her kitchen in Nantgarw, south Wales, where residents are returning to their homes to survey and repair the damage in the aftermath of Storm Dennis
PA
27/50 16 February 2020
Teme Street in Tenbury Wells is seen under floodwater from the overflowing River Teme, after Storm Dennis caused flooding across large swathes of Britain
AFP via Getty
28/50 15 February 2020
Models present creations at the Richard Quinn catwalk show during London Fashion Week in London
Reuters
29/50 14 February 2020
Climate change protesters march through Whitehall, London
PA
30/50 13 February 2020
Resigned as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mr Javid’s departure comes just one month before a crucial budget, intended to chart the course for the new government – and makes him the shortest-serving chancellor for more than 50 years
EPA
31/50 12 February 2020
Hill farmer Tommy Aitchison from North Shortcleugh farm feeds his sheep in Elvanfoot, Scotland. A yellow warning for snow and ice remains in place across most of Scotland, police have reported a number of crashes across the region with many routes affected by snow and ice
Getty
32/50 11 February 2020
Robyn Peoples, left, 26, and Sharni Edwards, 27, at the Loughshore Hotel, in Carrickfergus, after they became the first couple to have a same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland
PA
33/50 10 February 2020
Waves crash over a lorry on Blackpool waterfront as weather warnings for wind, snow and ice have been issued across large parts of the country. A day after the UK is trying to recover from the battering from Storm Ciara
PA
34/50 9 February 2020
Residents attempt to remove water from their property as the streets flood in Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria, as Storm Ciara hits the UK
PA
35/50 8 February 2020
England’s Ellis Genge celebrates scoring the first try of their Six Nations match against Scotland with teammates. The weather at Murrayfield Stadium hampered the playing conditions, with winds and rain from Storm Ciara approaching the UK. The away side won the match late on, with the scoreline ending 6-13
Reuters
36/50 7 February 2020
Activists surround a wooden trojan horse in the courtyard of the British Museum in London. The horse, which is 4 metres tall and can seat 10 people inside, was pulled in by a group of supporters with flags reading “BP Must Fall”
BP or not BP/PA
37/50 6 February 2020
Members of the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme team examine a dead whale that died after becoming stranded in the Thames estuary at Medway over the weekend
PA
38/50 5 February 2020
Children from Oaklands Secondary School in Bethnal Green and Families Belong Together campaigners in Westminster before handing a petition in to the Home Office, as they call on the government to amend the UK’s refugee family reunion laws
PA
39/50 4 February 2020
Rasputin the polar bear, shakes off water as he is unveiled at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park, Doncaster
PA
40/50 3 February 2020
Police activity inside a cordon where a man was shot by armed police in a terrorist-related incident in Streatham, London
EPA
41/50 2 February 2020
Micheal Ward with his Rising Star Award alongside Daniel Kaluuya Baftas
Reuters
42/50 1 February 2020
Activists attend an anti-Conservative government, pro-Scottish independence, and anti-Brexit demonstration outside Holyrood, the seat of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh
AFP/Getty
43/50 31 January 2020
Pro EU supporters display a banner ‘ Here to Stay, Here to Fight, Migrants In, Tories Out’ from Westminster bridge in front of the Houses of Parliament in London. Britain officially exits the EU on 31 January, beginning an eleven month transition period
EPA
44/50 30 January 2020
Kiko the 2-year-old British Bulldog skateboarding with his owner, Ebel Perez, from Shiremoor, North Tyneside
PA
45/50 29 January 2020
British MEP’s and their assistants along with members of the political group Socialist and Democrats at a ceremony prior to the vote on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU at the European Parliament in Brussels
AP
46/50 28 January 2020
Torches are lit using a flare ahead of the Up Helly Aa Viking festival. Originating in the 1880s, the festival celebrates Shetland’s Norse heritage
PA
47/50 27 January 2020
England bowler Mark Wood is lifted aloft by Joe Root after taking the final wicket of South Africa to win the match and series during day four of the Fourth Test at Wanderers in Johannesburg
Getty
48/50 26 January 2020
Performers taking part in a parade involving costumes, lion dances and floats, during Chinese New Year celebrations in central London, which marks the Year of the Rat
PA
49/50 25 January 2020
A couple walks along the Basingstoke canal near to Dogmersfield in Hampshire
PA
50/50 24 January 2020
Boris Johnson gestures as he watches a performance during celebrations for Chinese Lunar New Year at Downing Street in London
Reuters
The campaigner said: “[We want a pledge] that if you have lost five years of your state pension, you will get it back. There are almost 6,000 women born in the 1950’s in each constituency across the country on average. If the incumbent MP’s majority is slim, then they can easily sway the result of that constituency.
“It is not only women born in the 1950s. It is now their families and friends too: 3.8 million women can easily turn into ten million with them. What we are looking for is a declaration from party leaders to say exactly what they will do. We want people to understand the power of our voting bloc.”
Ms Welch would not comment on the respective parties policies on the state pension age until all of their manifestos have been released.
Ms Welch, whose campaign group took the government to court over the issue, fiercely condemned Boris Johnson for performing a “U-turn” on the state pension changes – noting the prime minister had pledged to look at the issue with “fresh vigour” during the Conservative leadership campaign.
Mr Johnson’s official spokesperson said they welcomed the High Court’s judgement last month and said it has “always been our view” the changes made were “entirely lawful and did not discriminate on any grounds”.
Ms Welch said she was “shocked” by the recently leaked internal document from the Tory party headquarters, unearthed by The Guardian, which told conservative candidates in the general election not to add their signatures to particular pledges.
“Avoid signing [pledges],” the document says. “Changes to the state pension age are part of a long-overdue move towards gender equality and will put the pensions system on a more sustainable footing for future generations.”
Ms Welch argued the government had broken the law in not informing women their state pension age had changed – claiming there have been “proactive manoeuvres” not to tell people.
The campaigner said women’s lives had been “annihilated” by the pension adjustments and some were being forced on to the streets and others had accumulating debts. She said one woman she knew had suffered a mental breakdown due to not getting her state pension.
“Another woman told me the changes were her ‘death warrant’,” Ms Welch said. “I can’t forget those words. They literally haunt me. Women are clinging on by their fingertips to stay afloat. They try everything. They sell furniture and jewellery and anything they can. One person told me she had sold her grave plot where she would have been buried next to her parents. Imagine being in debt and then having that emotional hit. Women are being made to feel like they are scroungers when they have been striving their whole lives. It is outrageous.”
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has said the rise in the pension age has added to “poverty, homelessness and financial hardship among the affected women”.
The Department for Work and Pensions was taken to court by two claimants who said raising their pension age “unlawfully discriminated against them on the grounds of age, sex, and age and sex combined” and they were not given adequate notice to adjust.
Michaela Hawkins, who has been affected by the state pension changes, said: “I will not support the conservatives because of their track record on women’s rights. They have deliberately exploited women born in the 1950s by taking away up to six years of their state pension for no other reason than we are women who are seen as easy targets.”
Women got their state pensions at 60 until 2010 with rises in the last decade. The retirement age of both men and women is set to increase to 67 by 2028.
Dr Rosalind Shorrocks, who specialises in political behaviour and gender, said the women affected by the state pension changes could be swing voters.
The academic, who was involved in forecasting the 2016 EU referendum and the general election a year later, said: “These women are a substantial in number. One of the interesting things about gender is women and men are reasonably evenly distributed so women exist in every constituency.
“Women affected by the state pension changes could have an impact in very marginal constituencies if campaigners manage to get mobilisation around this. One-quarter of women voters overall are currently undecided about the election.”
Dr Shorrocks, who noted the women could also influence family members, said some of the undecided female voters could consider issue of state pension ages when deciding how to cast their ballot.
The academic, who noted the women could also influence family members, said campaigners could also influence the election by pressuring political parties into making commitments to them.
Women were more likely than men to vote for the Conservatives until the 1970s, she said.
Dr Shorrocks said this gender imbalance continued but narrowed until the 2017 election when more women than men voted for Labour than the Tories – explaining it was the first election this had happened in the entire history of women being able to vote.
Professor Rosie Campbell, director of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London, said the issue of women’s state pension changes was part of a “larger story” of pension poverty and women’s relative economic inequality – especially post-divorce.
She said: “These issues affect a lot of the population. If campaigners come together with others fighting gender equality then they could have an impact.”
Professor Campbell added that the Conservative’s changes to the state pension ages were “alienating” older women who have historically disproportionately voted Tory.
— Women hit by pension age changes could impact general election, say experts to www.independent.co.uk