Miners’ Letter to Rishi Sunak MP and Liz Truss MP

Throughout August, I have been co-ordinating a letter regarding the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme. This letter was sent to Rishi Sunak MP and Liz Truss MP as candidates for the role of Prime Minister of the UK on Tuesday 23rd August.

The Tory Government of 1994 guaranteed miners’ pensions, but with the condition that 50% of any surplus made on pensions would go to the Government. There was no analysis or evaluation to inform this arrangement before it was introduced. Miners could take this deal or sacrifice their entire pension.

I campaigned for the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee to hold an enquiry into the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme. Last year they reported their findings. Their recommendations included ending the 50/50 surplus deal and giving back the £1.2 billion reserve. This would make a huge difference to former miners, who currently receive an average pension of just £84 per week.

Meanwhile, the Government has extracted over £4.4 billion from the scheme to date, without having contributed a penny since 1987. They are due to receive almost £2 billion more.

Something has to change.

The trustees and I met the Minister to secure the bonus protection for miners’ pensions. This has ensured that miners’ pensions will this year be protected against inflation, and will rise by around 11% rather than just 4%.

But a decade of Conservative neglect has left former miners suffering, despite Boris Johnson’s “categorical” promise at the last General Election to action on miners’ pensions and to level up former mining communities. Nothing more than empty promises from the Tories.

Conservative coalfield MPs were asked to sign the letter but chose not to do so.

The Labour Party is committed to righting this historical wrong and getting former miners the deal they deserve. We would revise the unfair surplus sharing arrangement and return the £1.2 billion reserve to miners, putting this money back where it belongs: into the pockets of retired miners in communities like mine in Barnsley East.