'Victory' to the mineworkers as Nottinghamshire campaigners welcome government’s pension promise

For decades now, mining campaigners across the country have claimed former miners and their families have been robbed of billions by successive governments and called for a fair share of the pension pot.

When mineworkers and their families signed up to the pension scheme in 1994, many said they were told by ministers that ‘no more than £2 billion’ was needed from the pot to guarantee its future.

In 1994, a privatisation agreement was signed, meaning the government would receive half of any surplus cash from a miners' pension scheme in return for guaranteeing that pensions would increase.

The previous Conservative government confirmed that it had received £4.8 billion from the scheme over the last 30 years.

However, campaigners believe the figure is closer to £8 billion and said they believe if current trends had continued, the government could take another £1 billion over the next decade.

Their plight was subsequently supported by a Parliamentary Inquiry, but to date no action has been taken.

However, The Labour Party, now in government after this year’s general election, pledged their commitment to ending the injustice of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme in a 2024 manifesto.

In The Labour Party's annual conference in Liverpool over the weekend, Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, confirmed the government's commitment to bringing justice for mineworkers and their families, fulfilling the party’s manifesto pledge.

Addressing the crowd, Mr Miliband said: “Just as we will do right by today’s generations in our energy policy, so we will do right by past generations that powered our country.

“Across Britain, hundreds of thousands went down the mines.

“Too often they paid the price in ill health and even with their lives.”

He added: “We owe them the greatest debt. But we know there is unfinished business – the scandal of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme.

“And so this Labour government will honour the promise in our manifesto to finally deliver justice to mineworkers and their families.”

Mick Newton, a former miner from North Nottinghamshire who attended the conference with campaigners, welcomed the government's renewed pledge to bring about “justice” and hailed the pledge as “victory at long last” for ex-mining communities.

He added: “It's a historic victory for mineworkers, widows and our communities.

“It's been a long and difficult campaign but we never lost hope because we knew we were right and justice would prevail.

“The announcement will not only enable significant increases to our pensions but will also vindicate the tireless efforts of campaigners and supporters, who never gave up.

“Over the past ten years we orchestrated a 100,000 strong petition that took three years to compile and culminated in a very positive Parliamentary Select Committee Enquiry.

“We suffered setback after setback and indeed but thankfully found the strength to continue, to what can only be classed as a ‘momentous campaign’ and a ‘momentous victory’”.

Charles Chiverton, a retired Nottinghamshire mineworker who has campaigned alongside Mick over the years, welcomed the promise.

He said: “We are more than confident that this new Labour government will honour its pledge to end the most disgusting pension theft in living history.

“Over 300,000 miners have been punished to the grave, and for 14 years, the Tories continued that punishment – even after the BEIS select committee, a Conservative dominated committee, ruled in favour to stop the punishment in 2021.

“That has cost another 15,000 members dying without seeing justice.

“Governments should not be in the business of making money off the back of the mineworkers' pension scheme.

“Going forward, we know and are confident that our new Labour government will honour that pledge and end this disgraceful injustice, and finally release our pension scheme back to us.

“Now our members can begin to relax in the knowledge that they can look forward to a retirement that they justifiably deserve.”

Alan Spencer, general secretary of National Union of Mineworkers Nottingham Area, added: “I believe that the government will stand by its commitments on the Mineworkers Pension Scheme as outlined by Ed Miliband in his speech at The Labour Party conference.

“I spoke at the 2021 The Labour Party Conference on the injustice of the Mineworkers Pension Scheme and got a unanimous decision for it to go in the that manifesto.

“Fast forward to this year and our national general secretary Chris Kitchen has spent countless hours getting the backing of other unions and MPs to support getting this pledge in this year’s manifesto.”