Salford MP, Rebecca Long-Bailey, will lead a debate in the House of Commons calling for urgent financial redress for women born in the 1950s who suffered injustice as a result of Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) maladministration.

Speaking ahead of the debate, Rebecca Long-Bailey MP said: “This is not just a debate about pensions—it is about justice, trust in public institutions, and the value we place on the women who helped build our society. These women did everything right. They worked, they cared, they contributed—and then they were failed.

“The Ombudsman has made clear that maladministration occurred and that redress is needed. The Government must act now.

“These women are not going to go away—and as long as they are still fighting, then so will I. It’s time for Ministers to listen, act, and finally deliver the justice these women have been waiting decades for.”

The debate follows the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s (PHSO) final report, published in March 2024, which found that the DWP failed to properly communicate changes to the State Pension Age legislated in the 1995 Pensions Act, leaving millions of women unprepared for retirement. The report confirmed that this constituted maladministration and called on Parliament to devise a remedy.

Campaigners have long argued that women born in the 1950s were left financially and emotionally devastated by these failures, with many forced into debt, poverty, or prolonged ill-health due to the loss of expected pension income. Some have died still waiting for justice.

In her speech, Rebecca Long-Bailey MP will urge the Government re-engage with campaigners, and bring forward a fair, timely and transparent mechanism for compensation. She will also highlight the unprecedented nature of the PHSO’s decision to place the report before Parliament—only the ninth time in its history such a step has been taken.

Rebecca Long-Bailey MP, who co-chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on State Pension Inequality for Women, has worked closely with campaigners from across the UK to press for financial redress and raise the voices of those impacted.

The debate is scheduled to begin at approximately 1pm on Thursday 3rd July, though it may start significantly earlier. It can be watched live online here.

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