As the women from West Wales embarked on their journey to London at 4 am last Thursday, October 3, the country lay with baited breath for the outcome of the Judicial Review presented by the Backto60s campaign group and their legal team led by Michael Mansfield QC.

At the stroke of 10 am, a generation of women were left distraught. The High Court ruling dismissed the case. Pandemonium set in, there was crying around Court No 1, the 3.8 million women had been dealt a blow.

However, the judges said the women must not give up their fight and that this was a political decision that should be resolved by Parliament and not by the judges.

Recently Boris Johnson said he would do all he could to end the injustice - “let’s hope he sticks to his word,” said local co-ordinator Jackie Gilderdale. “The Tory Government in Westminster should be ashamed of the way they have treated these women and Guy Opperman needs to sit down with the campaign groups to try and resolve the issue. WASPI have been asking to meet with him for the last seven years to no avail. It is time for them to listen”.

George Osborne accelerated the timetable in 2010… having two years earlier issuing a solemn promise that “no person imminently expecting a pension will be affected.”

So he speeded up the process because he is passionate about gender equality! Sadly it was just another austerity measure for which in 2012 he boasted, “It was the easiest saving I ever had to make.”

Jackie went on to say: “It is a fact that women who were born in the 1950s, as a result of discriminatory employment and pension laws, do not receive equal pension to men.

This is simply not good enough. Pembrokeshire WASPI are calling on the Tory Government to enact a temporary special measure, as permitted by international law to provide restitution to women born in the 1950s who have lost their pensions from the age of 60, because of the impact of the rise in retirement age.”

With a potential general election, 3.8 million votes will have a significant effect on the result. All political parties must work with the WASPI women to agree a way forward.

On Friday, Plaid Cymru overwhelmingly supported the WASPI motion at their Conference and have included the campaign in their Manifesto.

To find out more about Women Against State Pension Injustice, email [email protected] or click on www.waspicampaign2018.co.uk