Exclusive:Waspi women: Scottish Labour MPs worried about compensation U-turn ahead of Holyrood election

Several MPs told The Scotsman that reviewing the decision was “reminding the public” about a contentious issue and would likely result in another “unpopular” outcome.

On Tuesday, it was announced the UK government would revisit the decision not to compensate the Women Against State Pension Inequality [Waspi] after new evidence came to light.

But government sources warned the new evidence was unlikely to change the decision.

Many Scottish Labour MPs were unhappy about the issue coming back around. One told The Scotsman: "It puts Waspi back in people's heads again. The only people who had been talking about it were a few nationalist trolls online. Now the public are reminded of it."

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Another said it could be damaging for Labour. "Have we done this just to make an unpopular decision again, just months before the Scottish election?” the MP said. “That would be ridiculous."

A third MP said that no outcome was positive for the UK government. "Either they reject it again and we've just f***** it up again, or they approve it and we've just spent yet more money on old people than young people,” the MP said.

“Then we get no credit for dragging our feet and we've probably lost a load of pensioners anyway."

A fourth told The Scotsman: “There needs to a generational shift towards teenagers whose mental health has been hit by Covid, those in their 20s who are unable to buy a house, and those in their 30s who will never earn as much as the generation before them.

“There needs to be a change in the national conversation.”

But Alloa and Grangemouth MP Brian Leishman, who was recently readmitted to the Parliamentary Labour Party after a suspension, encouraged the UK government to compensate the women.

He said: "Like many other Labour MPs, I have campaigned for Waspi women to receive justice and what is right. Delivering justice for Waspi women is not only the right thing to do, it is also overdue.

"As I have said before, I urge the leadership to give people what they need and that is a Labour government that delivers on Labour values."

Campaigners have argued the UK government did not properly inform women born in the 1950s that there would be delays to them receiving the state pension.

The Waspi group has argued this led to women planning their finances based on incorrect understandings, which has left them having to work longer or facing financial hardship.

The decision to refuse compensation was made despite a recommendation by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) stating the women should be paid up to £2,950 each.

Then work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall said in December last year the potential £10.5 billion cost could not be justified.

Waspi women have since sought a judicial review to challenge the government’s policy.

Senior Labour figure,s including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, former Scottish Secretary Ian Murray and Energy Secretary Michael Shanks, were among dozens of Labour MPs to support the Waspi campaign before the general election.

The UK government was approached for comment.