Waspi women latest: Starmer defends choppy first six months amid growing Labour rebellion

Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) campaigners have accused the Prime Minister of spreading “dangerous misinformation” in his defence of how State Pension age changes were communicated to women born in the 1950s.

Angela Madden, Chair of Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI), said: “This isn’t just misleading; it’s an insult to millions of 1950s-born women who were blindsided by these changes. The Ombudsman’s findings were based on rigorous evidence showing that 60 per cent of women had no idea their own State Pension age was rising.

“The Government’s attempt to cherry-pick data to suggest otherwise is spreading dangerous misinformation, plain and simple.”

Ms Madden added: “The fact that 90 per cent of women had some general awareness of potential changes in the future does not mean they knew this would impact them personally.

“That is exactly why the Ombudsman identified maladministration and why this Government’s continued attempts to muddy the waters are so unacceptable.”

The Government has announced new funding in an attempt to fix the “dire straits” of local government finances, including £700 million extra for councils.

Local government minister Jim McMahon said councils across the country are “in crisis” after 14 years of Conservative-led governments.

“I take the responsibility to lead this Government’s work to rebuild the sector with the seriousness that it’s due and also with the urgency that’s required,” Mr McMahon said. This work has already begun, and today marks a major milestone in our mission to rebuild local government and to put councils on a firmer financial footing.”

He added: “This is why today I am announcing over £700 million of additional grant. This includes over £200 million of extra funding for social care since the policy statement.”

Mr McMahon said £515 million would be given to councils to help them with the rise in employers’ national insurance.

He said: “Taken together, the additional funding made available at this settlement and the Budget delivers over £5 billion of new funding for local services over and above local council tax.”

He went on to say: “We must ensure that public investment is used too for long-term prevention and the reform of local public services, rather than expensive short-term crisis responses which we know often have much worsening outcomes. We are determined to end the cycle of failure that we have seen for too long. We will provide certainty by making sure that no authority will see a reduction in their core spending power after accounting for council tax flexibilities next year.”

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Energy bill payers have been promised more protections and better customer service as part of plans to reform the regulator Ofgem.

The watchdog could get new consumer-facing powers including shortening the eight-week mandatory response time when people complain to their energy supplier.

Customers could also get better access to automatic compensation when things to wrong with their energy bills.

Ministers say they want to rebuild trust in the sector after energy price spikes in 2022 led to soaring bills and caused a swathe of smaller suppliers to go bust.

Larger companies have faced accusations of profiteering off the sharp increase in wholesale costs caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Energy consumers minister Miatta Fahnbulleh said the Government has “learned from the energy crisis”.

Ms Fahnbulleh said: “We will ensure that working people have access to the best possible support to choose more affordable, smarter, clean energy that is right for them.

“Energy bills are still too high and that is why we worked with suppliers to announce £500 million of additional winter support.”

Measures designed to increase the representation of women bishops in the House of Lords are on the verge of becoming law.

The Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill continues for a further five years the policy of filling any vacancies that appear on the bishop’s benches in the unelected house with female bishops.

The Bill received an unopposed third reading in the Commons on Wednesday and has already been supported by the House of Lords.

Five of the 26 guaranteed places for Church of England bishops in the upper chamber are filled by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and the Bishops of London, Durham and Winchester.

The remainder were traditionally filled on the basis of length of tenure, but this was changed following the 2014 decision to grant women the right to serve as bishops.

Legislation was introduced in 2015 to prevent female bishops having to wait many years to join the upper chamber and therefore give them priority over long-serving men.

The Government brought forward the extension Bill after it was requested by the Church of England.