War Widows’ Association of Great Britain

Baroness Thomas of Walliswood Excerpts

Wednesday 8th June 2011 Grand Committee

[Baroness Thomas of Walliswood]

My Lords, in introducing the debate, the noble Viscount has given us an opportunity to learn more about the development of the War Widows’ Association of Great Britain since its inception in 1971 and to make some comments on the current situation.

Of course, 1971 was the year Laura Connelly returned from Australia, where the war widows’ pension was tax free, only to find that her war widows’ pension was taxed in the UK. She refused to pay the tax on her pension and was supported by 14 women who battled successfully to remove the burden of paying taxes on their pensions. A letter from Joyce Maxwell, one of the founder members of the association, allows us to see more of the story. She tells us of her anger at the removal of tax from her pension, which she characterises as,

“never enough to support a family, except in the meagrest of fashions”—

which I think is a wonderful phrase.

Campaigning by the association has resulted in significant improvements in the situation: the removal of income tax from the war widows’ pension; reinstatement of the pension to war widows on cessation of second or subsequent marriage; and retention of the MoD occupational pension on remarriage. However, it took many years of sustained campaigning to achieve this position. I do not think that the results that were achieved in those days reflected very well on society’s attitude to those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. We hear a great deal about sacrifice at this and other times of the year—and it is a true sacrifice—but to make a kind of flowerpot out of it does not suit me very well.

Today, however, there are still financial problems to be faced by wives and families when husbands are killed or disabled—and, of course, large numbers of heavily disabled young men are now being returned from Afghanistan and other places. The widow may see a marked loss of income—this is quite common for women pensioners. SAGA evidence clearly demonstrates unfairness between men and women in general. In particular, SAGA has highlighted the fact that pensions are to be uplifted more rapidly for male than for female pensioners. This is despite the fact that women rely more heavily on the basic state pension as a result of having to do most of the childcare in the family.

Meanwhile, the armed services are being warned that they cannot be spared from government cuts leading to changes in military expenditure that could cost families thousands of pounds. Lobby groups and MPs are working to achieve a rethink. The Royal British Legion and the Forces Pension Society have given evidence to the effect that some forces families should be exempt from the payment of pensions. The expected change from the retail prices index to the consumer prices index will hit the military pensions hardest. That is especially true for widows and invalids.

Despite the splendid efforts of the War Widows’ Association, we may still need to press for improved pensions for members of the armed services and their wives and partners. Therefore, while I pay tribute to the tenacity of the association, it seems to me that this did not reflect well on society’s attitudes to those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. Many people—the noble Baroness, Lady Dean, spoke about them—have put tremendous effort into supporting armed services personnel and their wives in trying to achieve the appropriate recompense for tragic circumstances, which they so thoroughly deserve.