WASPI warriors and their army of supporters received overwhelming support from Cornwall County Councillors to call on the government to make fair transitional state pension arrangements for all women born on or after April 6, 1951.

WASPI (Women Against State Pension Equality) is campaigning against the accelerated increase in the retirement age for women and the lack of notice and information given about the changes.

WASPI campaigner Carol Reynolds of Launceston said: “I wanted to shout and cheer when we got the result, and I was actually in tears. It’s so important to know that people who have some authority understand what we are fighting for and care, which was abundantly obvious today.

“We couldn’t have hoped for a better outcome and special thanks go to councillors Mario Fonk and Loveday Jenkin for presenting and seconding the motion.

“This is a really big step forward for us ladies in Cornwall and a positive result for the WASPI campaign in general.”

Cllr Fonk said: “The government have brought these changes in far too quickly without giving enough notice to everyone concerned. This is having a disproportionate effect on women born in the 1950s.

“Many women will have to sell their homes, go without essentials and rely on their own elderly parents because of the unfair way changes to the state pension age have been made. These women born have been hugely disadvantaged by the government’s handling and communication of the changes.

“Cornwall Council will now write to the government asking them to make fair transitional arrangements for all women born after April 1951. I’m also hoping that this will encourage other local authorities to get behind WASPI and hopefully end this injustice to women.”

Cllr Jenkin added: “To have people who have worked all their lives expecting to reach pension age at 60 be given just a few years’ notice that they now have to work three, four, five or six years more strikes me as incredibly inequitable.

“This is not about the equalling of age but about the transitional period of 30,000 Cornish women of that generation left in this situation. They’ve had to fight for equal pay, fight to be seen as equivalent to men in the workplace and they are not going away. They are the fighting generation and I’m proud to stand up for them.

“Do we want to be equitable in supporting a system for people who have worked and contributed to the economy of the country all of their lives or let these people suffer into their old age?”

Former teacher Janette Johnson from Bodmin Moor said: “I was thrilled with how supportive the councillors were. They had obviously researched the issue, thought about it carefully and made some excellent points. I would like to thank them for taking the time to consider this life changing issue with so much care.”

Members of the Cornish branch of WASPI were also out in force at the recent protests held in London and Cornwall.

“We will continue to represent the thousands and thousands of women in Cornwall hit by the decision to raise the state pension age without lack of appropriate notification.”

To find out more about the group log on to the Facebook page of Cornwall WASPI friends or contact Peta Bull 07786 461260 or Carol Reynolds 07753 129010