Key Takeaways
- • Ministers plan to abandon the expected transfer of the remaining Mineworkers' Pension Scheme assets (believed to be worth £1.2bn) to former miners, according to PoliticsHome sources, on the eve of the government's first Budget.
- • The Treasury is reportedly seeking to renegotiate the existing 50/50 surplus-sharing arrangement rather than transfer the fund outright.
- • Labour MPs from mining constituencies have warned the move could be seen as a "betrayal" that Reform UK would exploit before the next general election.
- • The dispute follows Rachel Reeves's 2024 decision to end the arrangement and transfer £1.5bn of the fund to members.
- • The Treasury declined to comment ahead of the Budget, which Chancellor John Healey was due to deliver on Wednesday 28 October.
Summary
Labour MPs representing mining seats have expressed fury over government plans reportedly to abandon a promise to transfer the remaining assets of the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme to former miners, according to PoliticsHome. MPs were informed on Tuesday 27 October that ministers no longer planned the transfer as expected, PoliticsHome understands. Instead, the Treasury is said to be looking to renegotiate the existing 50/50 surplus-sharing arrangement.
The issue dates back to 1994, when British Coal was privatised and ministers agreed that the government would act as guarantor for its pension payouts. Former chancellor Rachel Reeves ended the 30-year-old arrangement in her first Budget in 2024, transferring £1.5bn of the fund to members. Labour MPs in affected areas had expected the remaining funds, believed to be worth £1.2bn, to go to beneficiaries.
On Tuesday night, backbenchers made urgent representations to Downing Street ahead of the Budget delivered by Chancellor John Healey, the first under the Andy Burnham administration. John Trickett, Labour MP for Normanton and Hemsworth, said: "We owe a moral duty to the miners and the government must show that it has listened, understands and will act in this matter." Another Labour MP said they hoped Healey would make the right decision, noting that miners and their families are part of the party's core vote.
MPs urging a change of course have warned that current plans risk being seen as a betrayal that Reform UK would capitalise on before the next general election. Prime Minister Burnham had told The Mirror during his Makerfield by-election campaign that he would ensure "every promise is honoured and every penny reaches the people it is meant for." The Treasury declined to comment on speculation ahead of the Budget.
The issue dates back to 1994, when British Coal was privatised and ministers agreed that the government would act as guarantor for its pension payouts. Former chancellor Rachel Reeves ended the 30-year-old arrangement in her first Budget in 2024, transferring £1.5bn of the fund to members. Labour MPs in affected areas had expected the remaining funds, believed to be worth £1.2bn, to go to beneficiaries.
On Tuesday night, backbenchers made urgent representations to Downing Street ahead of the Budget delivered by Chancellor John Healey, the first under the Andy Burnham administration. John Trickett, Labour MP for Normanton and Hemsworth, said: "We owe a moral duty to the miners and the government must show that it has listened, understands and will act in this matter." Another Labour MP said they hoped Healey would make the right decision, noting that miners and their families are part of the party's core vote.
MPs urging a change of course have warned that current plans risk being seen as a betrayal that Reform UK would capitalise on before the next general election. Prime Minister Burnham had told The Mirror during his Makerfield by-election campaign that he would ensure "every promise is honoured and every penny reaches the people it is meant for." The Treasury declined to comment on speculation ahead of the Budget.
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