North Devon MP joins the battle to ‘get justice’ for WASPI women

North Devon’s MP has joined more than 100 parliamentary colleagues in the fight to secure compensation for women affected by controversial pension changes.

Ian Roome says he is backing ‘WASPI women’ both locally and nationally – millions of women born in the 1950s were hit with financial hardship when the State Pension age changed from age 60 to 65 in 1995.

Since then, the group known as Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) has been battling successive governments calling for compensation as many of its members say they had to carry on working far longer than expected and suffered financially.

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In December 2024 the current government said it would not pay out but this decision was rescinded in December 2025. Campaigners now wait on a new decision from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), with the possibility there could be some compensation.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman previously investigated the issue and has recommended the women should get pay outs ranging from £1,000 to £2,950.

Earlier this month, North Devon MP Ian Roome wrote to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on behalf of local women affected and he has since joined more than 100 MPs from across Parliament who are demanding the Government ‘finally do the right thing’.

Campaigners argue changes to the State Pension age were introduced without adequate notice, leaving many facing hardship and debt.

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Locally, Mr Roome says he has been contacted by hundreds of constituents, including women who planned their working lives around retiring at 60 and then ‘had the goalposts moved with little warning’.

He said: “WASPI women in North Devon have been writing to me in huge numbers, and the stories are both heart-breaking and infuriating.

“They have suffered a clear injustice through no fault of their own, yet the Government continues to ignore the Ombudsman’s recommendations.

"After years of successive economic failure regarding WASPI pensions, it is disgraceful to ask pensioners to pay the price.

“I’m proud to have joined MPs from across Parliament to demand action, because this isn’t about party politics, it’s about basic fairness for women in North Devon and across the country who have already waited far too long.”