Andy Burnham urged to tax banks as £55 bn profit boom looms

New UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Chancellor John Healey are being pressed to increase the levy on the country's biggest banks after analysts project a record £55 billion profit for the sector in 2026. Barclays is expected to report £5.9 bn, Lloyds £4.1 bn and NatWest £4.1 bn in the first half of the year, with HSBC results pending.

Trade union TUC analysts propose raising the existing 3% surcharge on bank profits – which sits on top of the 25% corporation tax – to 8%, potentially generating £9 billion over four years, or to 16% for an estimated £24 billion. Positive Money’s co‑executive director Sara Hall said, “With Britain’s big banks on course for yet another year of record profits, let’s not forget they’ve been one of the biggest beneficiaries of this cost‑of‑living crisis.” The proposal is framed as a way to fund the government’s cost‑of‑living relief agenda and address the public’s perception that banks have profited from higher interest rates and reserves held at the Bank of England.