Today in Parliament the e-petition 700143 with over three million signatures will be discussed, “Call a General Election” which includes “I would like there to be another General Election. I believe the current Labour Government have gone back on the promises they laid out in the lead up to the last election.” Jamie Stone, Liberal Democrat MP, for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross in the North East Scotland MP organised that e-Petition. The most significant total of Sussex signatures for this e-Petition is in Arundel and South Downs, represented by Conservative MP Andrew Griffith with nearly 7,000 signatures. In East Sussex, Sussex Weald and Bexhill and Battle and in West Sussex at Bognor Regis has more than 6,000 people. All other areas are less in number but at least 3,000 apart from Brighton Pavilion with 2,700. Signature numbers were very small until early October 2024 increasing as of November that year. Another e-Petition event called “Fireworks: Sale and Use” which required the items 639319 and 700013 was debated last Monday 9th December 2024. Andrew Griffith did respond. Let us hope that this year many other Sussex’s will contribute.

Also on Monday 13^th January, Alison Bennett, plans to discuss the “Impact of sixth form college strikes in Sussex on students”. Later Josh Babarinde, the Eastbourne Liberal Democrat is providing his own “Domestic Abuse (Aggravated Offences) Bill” on Friday 24th January.

A number of Committees have been set out, Beccy Cooper, Labour MP for Worthing West, proposes “Tobacco and Vapes Bill”.  “To consider the Bill Oral evidence” Helena Dollimore, Labour MP for Hastings and Rye for the “Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee” and the “Water (Special Measures) Bill [HL]” John Milne, Liberal Democrat for Horsham, the “Work and Pensions Committee” discusses the “Safeguarding vulnerable claimants” contribution. Peter Lamb, Labour MP for Crawley, the “Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee” which includes “Review of the 2024 general election”. Jess Brown-Fuller, the Liberal Democrat for Chichester looks at “Backbench Business Committee” and Alison Griffiths, the Conservative MP for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton the “Business and Trade Committee.” The “Finance Committee (Commons)” involves Nusrat Ghani Conservative for Sussex Weald and James MacCleary Liberal Democrat for Lewes.

Sian Berry’s contributed to the WASPI statement made by Work and Pensions secretary Liz Kendall on the 17^th December. This has been an extremely difficult decision to take

Liz Kendall stated that her report was of her words: “I want to be clear about what this report investigated, and what it did not. The report is not an investigation into the actual decision to increase the state pension age for women in 1995 or to accelerate that increase in 2011— a decision that the then Conservative Chancellor George Osborne said “Probably saved more money than anything else we’ve done”. That comment understandably angered many women and sparked the original Women Against State Pension Inequality Campaign. The ombudsman is clear that policy decisions to increase the state pension age in 1995 and since were taken by Parliament and considered lawful by the courts. This investigation was about how changes in the state pension age were communicated by the Department for Work and Pensions, and the impact this may have had on the ability of women born in the 1950s to plan for their retirement…. Given that the vast majority of women knew the state pension age was increasing, the Government do not believe that paying a flat rate to all women, at a cost of up to £10.5 billion, would be a fair or proportionate use of taxpayers’ money, not least when the previous Government failed to set aside a single penny for any compensation scheme and left us a £22 billion black hole in the public finances…. research from 2004 showing that 43% of women aged over 16 were aware of their state pension age…. Secondly, the report says that if letters had been sent out earlier, it would have affected what women knew about the state pension age. However, we do not agree that sending letters earlier would have had the impact that the ombudsman says…. “These two facts—that most women knew the state pension age was increasing and that letters are not as significant as the ombudsman says—as well as other reasons, have informed our conclusion that there should be no scheme of financial compensation to 1950s-born women in response to the ombudsman’s report”.

Sian: “This is a very harsh statement. It admits wrongdoing but offers a bitter dose of nothing to a generation of women who already faced prejudices and disadvantages in their careers and were caught out by Government decisions. If the Secretary of State will not reconsider her decision despite being urged to do so by Members on both sides of the House, what else will she do to ensure that those women can enjoy levels of security in retirement closer to equal those of their male counterparts?”

Liz: “This Government will protect the pensions triple lock, so your state pension will increase by up to £1,900 a year by the end of this Parliament; we will drive down waiting lists, so you get the treatment you need, with an extra £22 billion of funding for the NHS this year and next; and we will deliver the jobs, homes and opportunities your families need to build a better life”

Many women’s groups have been widely reported to clearly demonstrate their disappointment.