Campaigners urge Bank of England not to raise interest rates

London, 30 April 2026 - Demonstrators from campaign groups including Positive Money and Tax Justice UK gathered outside the Bank of England this morning to urge the policymakers inside not to raise interest rates at noon.

The protestors claimed that interest rates are the wrong tool for managing current inflationary pressures, since they’re mainly coming from supply-side disruptions to international fossil fuel markets driven by the ongoing war in Iran. They point to the limited impact rate rises had on bringing inflation back to target after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused the gas price to spike as evidence of why they won’t work this time around. 

The stunt came hours before the Bank of England is due to make its latest decision on whether to raise, hold or lower interest rates from their current level of 3.75%. 

Demonstrators were quick to point out that by raising the base interest rate 14 consecutive times between 2021 and 2023, the Bank of England has been paying tens of billions more in interest to commercial banks on their risk-free reserves than it had done previously, a cost ultimately borne by the Treasury. The UK’s four biggest banks made pre-tax profits of £45.7 billion in 2025, paying over £30 billion to their shareholders. Positive Money calculates that a windfall tax on these profits in line with the Energy Profits Levy could have raised £12.5 billion if it had been introduced in the Autumn Budget. 

Sara Hall, Co-Executive Director at Positive Money, said: 

“Further rate rises are a recipe for recession when the UK economy is already in the depths of a cost of living crisis and suffering from low investment and growing unemployment levels.

“What’s worse, higher rates won’t even target the main source of inflation right now. They’ll only pile further pressure on households, businesses and the government - all of whom are already paying huge borrowing costs - whilst boosting the bottom lines of banks. 

“Instead of relying on the same ineffective technique of interest rates to tackle a type of inflation they’re not designed for, the Government should take action on inflation with stronger caps on soaring energy costs and rent freezes. It should also claw back some of the record profits banks are making without lifting a finger via a windfall tax on bank profits.”

Jake Atkinson, Campaigns Manager at Tax Justice UK, said:

“It's not right that people up and down the country are terrified about price rises and affording the basics while mega-rich companies are hiking prices and making massive profits. The elephant in the room is the billions of pounds British banks have been making because of increasing interest rates.

With the war on Iran causing economic shocks the world over, and banks set to cash in again, it's high time the government placed a windfall tax on the extraordinary profits of the big banks and invested the revenue to tackle the cost of living crisis that is causing so much pain for households."

Conor O’Shea, Campaign Coordinator, Cost of Living Action, said:

"Now is not the time to raise interest rates, which would drive up monthly costs for millions around the country. The cost of living crisis has been going on for years, and far pre-dates the latest price spike brought on by the war in Iran. Solutions that pile onto bills for those who just cannot afford more are not solutions, but would just worsen the already unsustainable situation.

“Instead of quick fixes that compound the problem and add to the banks’ coffers at the expense of consumers, the government needs to be addressing this ongoing crisis in the round, by implementing structural and transformative policy solutions that cut costs, increase incomes and make taxation fairer in the long term.”

Notes:

• For further information or to speak to a spokesperson, please contact press@positivemoney.org.uk

• Photos can be found in this Google folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ZKofl2BwAtQn0FprjcnhAR2t9o77XVIB?usp=sharing 

• Positive Money calculated that a windfall tax on bank profits could have raised £12.5bn from the 2025 profits of just the UK’s four biggest banks: https://positivemoney.org/uk/press-release/the-chancellors-missing-billions-windfall-tax-on-banks-couldve-raised-pound125bn/ 

• Positive Money delivered a petition to Number 10 Downing Street in November with over 68,000 signatures: https://positivemoney.org/uk/press-release/over-68-000-people-call-on-chancellor-to-tax-the-banks-in-autumn-budget/ 

About Positive Money:

Positive Money is an international research and campaign organisation working to redesign our economic system for social justice and a liveable planet. Set up in the aftermath of the financial crisis, Positive Money is a not-for-profit company funded by charitable trusts and foundations, as well as small donations from its network of supporters. Find out more: www.positivemoney.org 

ENDS