Woman killed herself after general election over pension worries, claims SNP MP Mhairi Black

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A woman killed herself because she was worried about her pension in the wake of the general election result, a Scottish Nationalist MP has claimed.

Mhairi Black said she was “absolutely scunnered” with “banging on about the injustice” done to women by moves to increase the state pension age from 60 to 65.

Ms Black, the SNP's pensions spokeswoman, urged the Government to "do the right thing" and perform a U-turn on the plan.

She said it was "laughable" that ministers claimed there was not enough public money to fix the problem after Theresa May's recent £1bn deal with the Democratic Unionist Party.

Plans to raise the pension age for women between 2010 and 2020 were initially set out in 1995.

The coalition government decided to speed up the process in 2011 and the age was scheduled to rise to 65 in November 2018 and 66 by October 2020.

Campaigners, led by the Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) group, argue 2.6 million women born in the 1950s have been unfairly forced to reconsider their retirement plans at short notice.

Speaking in a Westminster Hall debate, SNP frontbencher Ms Black said: “I got an email today from a woman, a Waspi woman ... and she was telling us that her friend committed suicide after the general election result because she could not face what was going to happen to her.

“Citizens committing suicide over an issue that could be solved like that.

“An issue that the Government could do a U-turn on at any given moment.

“So when the Government manages to fork out a magical £1bn to cling on to power, first of all you must really want the job of being the one that has to fix these things.

“Second of all, you don't get to claim that money is the reason you can't help when you can find £1bn for self-interest."

The Tories scrapped changes to the triple lock for pensions and winter fuel payments proposed in their manifesto when they struck an agreement with the DUP at the end of June so the party could stay in power.

Ms Black said it was "wise" the Government decided to drop the proposals, calling the plans "damaging, unworkable and unpopular".

"I have a bit of respect for them to be able to go 'Aye, we got that wrong guys so we're pulling back, we're listening to you'," she said.

“What I would say, for hopefully the last time, just drop one more plan.

“Realise this is cross-party, this is across different backgrounds, different areas, this is people's mothers, this is your aunties, this is your sisters and cousins.

“So please can we do the right thing, do the job of Government and fix the problem and start looking after your people.”

During the debate on the issue, Guy Opperman, a Government minister, was heckled by MPs for suggesting women over 60 facing poverty could start apprenticeships.

Mr Opperman said: "The reality is over 200,000 people over 60 have entered further education since 2014/15."

Labour's Graham Jones said: "I'm struggling to hear the debate, did the minister just say that women aged 64 could go on an apprenticeship course?"