#TaxTheBanks petition delivered to Jeremy Hunt

March 14, 2024 

Ahead of the Spring Budget, we delivered our petition to Number 11 Downing Street to call on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to introduce a windfall tax on bank profits, following our full-page advert in his local newspaper The Surrey Advertiser. 

A big thank you to MPs Rebecca Long-Bailey and John McDonnell, and our campaign partners The Equality Trust for joining us on Tuesday 5th March, and an even bigger thank you to the more than 7,000 people who signed. Together, we made our message loud and clear – it’s time to #TaxTheBanks! 

Ahead of Jeremy Hunt's #Budget we delivered our petition to No. 11 Downing Street calling on the Chancellor to #TaxTheBanks 🏦💰

A big thank you to MPs Rebecca Long-Bailey and John McDonnell for joining us, and an even bigger thank you to the thousands of you who signed 💜 pic.twitter.com/pzhdDNbk9A

— Positive Money (@PositiveMoneyUK) March 6, 2024

Our hand-in action followed a full-page advert that we ran in Jeremy Hunt’s local newspaper The Surrey Advertiser the previous Friday, his last chance to visit his home constituency before the Budget.

Today we ran this full page ad 👇 in Jeremy Hunt's local newspaper demanding her #TaxTheBanks in next week's Budget.

Join 7,000+ people and sign the petition 👉https://t.co/RiYugO2fD6

Since #Budget2024 might be Hunt's last, it's his last chance to #TaxTheBanks! pic.twitter.com/qQukroiHYM

— Positive Money (@PositiveMoneyUK) March 1, 2024

Sadly when Jeremy Hunt ended up delivering his Budget to Parliament a windfall tax on banks wasn’t included in it. Soaring interest rates over the last few years have let the big banks rake in billions in profits while millions of people around the country struggle with crippling rent, mortgage, and debt payments. This single policy could’ve brought in £14 billion from big banks profits in 2023 alone, to help those suffering most from the cost of living crisis. 

Instead we got tax cuts. Like a cut to capital gains tax on property (in other words a tax cut for property investors) and 2 pence off National Insurance contributions which will increase inequality since the richest fifth of households will gain 12 times more than the poorest. 

And it’s all going to come at the cost of more cuts – which most people don’t want. 64% of people want taxes to stay the same or increase rather than see budgets for the NHS, buses, and schools slashed even further. 

After 15 years of austerity our hospitals and schools are literally crumbling around us. Now more than ever we need big, bold, long-term investment, not cheap political point scoring and the kind of short-term thinking that got us into this economic mess in the first place.

Positive Money was founded after the global financial crash, when the big banks got bailed out and we got sold out. Wages have flatlined since then and today, despite what this government says, the cost of living crisis is far from over. The Chancellor could’ve done so much more in his budget. Thankfully, this budget wasn’t the end of the road.  

This petition was just one battle. One example of our fight to build a better money and banking system against some of the richest and most powerful institutions in our country. And we won’t be stopping anytime soon. Whether that’s fairer taxes on banks, introducing a truly public digital pound, or financing the green transition, we won’t stop fighting for an economy that puts the wellbeing of people and planet above profit. 

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