‘Broke your promise!’ Tom Harwood slams Labour MP for ‘betraying’ Waspi women: ‘People feel let down’
GB News presenter Tom Harwood has launched a scathing attack on Labour MP Lucy Powell over the Government’s rejection of compensation for Waspi women.
During a heated exchange, Tom accused Powell of betraying millions of women affected by state pension age changes.
The confrontation came after Labour confirmed it would deny payments to 3.6 million women born in the 1950s who were not properly informed about pension age increases.
Tom said: “Lucy Powell, you thought that it was appropriate was only out a couple of years ago you posed with the Waspi women ahead of elections.
“You thought it was appropriate when you saw Birmingham Town Hall lit up in purple to support the campaign for compensation.
“Your party leader, the prime minister, Keir Starmer thought it was appropriate when only a couple of years ago, he stood with the Waspi women.
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“He’s pledging fast and fair compensation for the Waspi women, it’s easy to see why people feel betrayed here.”
He earlier added that the Labour party has “reneged” on their promise.
She responded: “Look, I can understand why people are upset and concerned.
“It was in our manifesto in 2019, five years ago now. We lost that election pretty badly.
“One of the reasons we lost that election was that people didn’t think we could pay for all the commitments we’ve made in our manifesto. In 2024 there was no commitment in our manifesto to compensation for the Waspi women.
“We wanted to make sure we could afford all of the commitments, we’ve made that judgement.
Tom said: “I think everyone watching will be able to make up their own minds as to whether people were given the impression in the election that this was something that Labour Party supported or otherwise.
She responded: “It wasn’t a feature of this election.”
The impact on Waspi women has been severe, with many forced to cut back on essentials this Christmas. Data shows 70 per cent of women affected have lost Winter Fuel Payments worth £200 or £300 each.
Angela Madden, chair of the Waspi campaign, said: “Despite supportive pledges from the Prime Minister and 16 members of the cabinet, Labour has made a crass, political choice to ignore the findings of the independent parliamentary ombudsman.”
“This heart breaking study shows the impossible choices Waspi women have been forced to make this Christmas. Far from a time of celebration, this will be a month of misery for many,” she added.
Starmer has insisted the government cannot afford to pay compensation to Waspi women.