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“For decades it has been a scandal that the government took money that could have been sent to the miners and their families. Today that scandal ends and the money is rightfully transferred to the miners.”

Triumphant words from Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, as he etched his name into mining folklore by return £1.5 billion to members of the Mineworkers Pension Scheme (MPS).

For those who spent decades underground, it is a significant victory after a 30-year struggle with governments of both colors. The remaining 112,000 members will see their pensions rise immediately by 32 per cent, around £29 a week on average.

For Labour, it’s a sure vote winner and a shot across Reform UK’s bow in the next battle for Britain’s Brexit-leaning northern hearts.

But it’s also controversial and potentially reckless, because that money shielded taxpayers from paying decades of miners’ pensions. By handing back the burnt Miliband just burned the last remaining insurance for a pension system that some say is already in trouble.

Worse, it potentially sets up an endgame there miners lose their pensions altogether.

The story began with the privatization of British Coal in 1994. MPS struck a deal that would see the government guarantee miners’ pensions would be paid, even if the scheme itself went bankrupt. In return, any surplus would be split 50:50 – giving the government £4.7 billion in net profit so far.

The £1.5bn itself was in the state-owned ‘Investment Reserve Fund’ within the MPS, an emergency pot in case the scheme started to struggle.

The miners claim they simply got their own money back. Critics argue that half of your profit is the price you pay for the kind of pension guarantee that would cost much more for a private scheme.

Some systems in nationalized industries, such as British Telecom, were given a crown guarantee for free. Nevertheless, MPS’s guarantee still allowed for higher risk investments, maximizing profits.

Morally, I fully support returning the money. The miners shed blood, sweat and tears in conditions that most could not spend 30 minutes in, let alone 30 years. It was dark, dangerous and dusty – labor broke out. Many have lifelong health problems, others lost their lives underground.

I’m also from Doncaster, a working-class town, now a city, with a rich mining heritage. I grew up immersed in the ‘Thatcher screwed the miners, destroyed an industry and ripped the heart out of communities’ narrative. Any dissenting opinion was dismissed immediately and furiously.

But growing up surrounded by groupthink also inspired me to look for alternative opinions. That is why I think there are serious questions for Mr Miliband to answer.

MPS is independently evaluated every three years. The 2017 and 2020 estimates are publicly available, and one expert recently expressed concern about their results.

For example, the scheme claimed it was only £225m in deficit in 2020, but pensions consultant John Ralfe says the real figure is £1.9bn. This would mean it was almost £2bn short of the amount needed to pay its pensions.

This year the scheme claimed the 2023 valuation shows a surplus of £1.1bn. However, Miliband’s department refuses to publish it.

Given that the taxpayer is responsible for any shortfall, and the insurance money has just been thrown away, we have a right to see it. As one Member of Parliament said, what do they have to hide?

The scheme was also closed in 1994, meaning no one has joined or paid in for 30 years. It makes it much easier to calculate your pension promises. So why does it still have 85 percent of its money in riskier investments like private equities, hedge funds and real estate, rather than safer options like bonds?

If it hasn’t already, the system should have shifted to safer investments and permanently removed that burden from taxpayers. This would be particularly useful at a time when inflation is back up, the cost of living is high and Rachel Reeves is raising taxes with one hand and tightening the winter fuel payment with the other.

So why hasn’t it? The likely answer is simple – the state guarantee. It’s like borrowing £100 from a casino with the promise that you can keep half of any winnings, but the debt is wiped clean if you lose it all. Why stop, when the worst that can happen is that you’re back where you started?

Despite the high level of risk in his assets, Miliband has seen fit to give the money away. To do that, he must have one of two things: a cast-iron belief that the system will always make its payments, or a diabolical attitude toward taxpayers’ wallets. I would like to know which one.

Some miners claim they have earned this perennial taxpayer support. Many people think they will never need it anyway.

Yet this confidence can come back to haunt them if it turns out to be misplaced. They have already pledged to continue fighting for the end of surplus sharing. For this to happen, the government will want something in return – and all that’s left is to end the guarantee.

Many miners would be happy, and why not, if the system really has a large surplus? They would finally keep 100 percent of their own profits. At the same time, Labor was able to cash in the profits and clear its obligations. Everyone wins.

But what if the system is actually in deficit? What if its assets start losing money? Or both? This would lead to a deficit and without a government guarantee, pensions would be affected. If the system takes a massive hit in the stock market, they could be decimated.

The miners fume when it is wrongly called “taxpayer’s money”. They are right about that. But this does not change the fact that it was an important buffer for taxpayers. We are entitled to a detailed explanation as to why it was given away.

The 40,000 ex-miners in the separate British Coal Superannuation Scheme will also be interested, as that £2.3bn investment reserve fund is not being returned. “Injustice” only goes so far, it seems.

As the wait for answers continues, Labor will no doubt see the £1.5 billion as a vote-winning drop in the ocean.

But “out to sea” is exactly where Miliband has ruthlessly thrown taxpayers, who have no idea how long they will be there, what storms are coming and what the damage might cost.

Meanwhile, he happily rides a wave – and uses the taxpayers’ last lifeboat to do it.

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