SHE has positioned herself in the General Election race as the next feminist prime minister, a self proclaimed “girly swot” whose yellow boxing gloves could deliver a blow to male-dominated Westminster politics.
But Jo Swinson, who recently donned boxing gloves in a PR stunt, faces competition in East Dunbartonshire from a women’s rights campaigner.
Independent candidate Rosie Dickson has been pushing for justice for 1950s-born women for the past three years as convenor of the regional WASPI group.
The acronym stands for Women Against State Pension Inequality and refers to the UK Government move to raise the age at which women can claim state support.
As many as 340,000 women across Scotland are affected and campaigners say lack of forewarning prevented them from being able to plan their finances for later life.
Some WASPI groups have reported members who have had to sell their homes to cope with the burden.
Dickson, a former healthcare professional, told The National the “grave injustice” is affecting women of all social classes and political persuasions. She is now one of seven candidates running against incumbent Swinson, whose majority in 2017 was around 5300 votes.
As many as 7600 women in East Dunbartonshire will be affected by the pension age changes, according to population estimates.
Dickson’s decision to run went right up to the wire, with Equal Pay Day – which symbolises the wage disparity between men and women – on Thursday acting as the deciding factor. The date fell on the same day as the candidate registration deadline.
She said: “I’m standing to get publicity for the 50s-born women because of the lack of publicity that the media have been giving to this issue. It was Equal Pay Day yesterday so that spurred me on to get my papers in.
“I was on and off thinking about it, then watching our bumbling Prime Minister on TV made me realise I’d done the right thing.”
The Tory Government has refused to reconsider its decision on the state pension age and says the change will benefit the public purse.
Swinson has accused broadcasters omitting her from TV leaders’ debates of sexism and, in a tweet about Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn, posted the phrase: “Scared, boys?”
She previously praised “amazing” WASPI, stating: “In my constituency, there are many women that have been affected by not being given proper notice of the changes to retirement age. “This campaign is important not just in East Dunbartonshire, but right across the UK. The LibDems have been pressing for the Government to take action.”
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