Tug of War at Downing Street to #TaxTheBanks

Following rising speculation last week that John Healey will increase taxes on banks (BBC, Guardian, CityAM) in his first Budget, we delivered our #TaxTheBanks petition with nearly 100,000 signatures to the Chancellor at Number 11 Downing Street, alongside our partners 38 Degrees and campaign groups Tax Justice UK, War on Want, and Organise, to help win the tug of war between big banks and ordinary people on 28th October.

Our campaign to #TaxTheBanks was one of the big economic news stories this summer. After the big four banks (Lloyds, Barclays, NatWest, and HSBC) reported £29 billion in profits for the first half of 2026, putting them on track for another record-breaking year without having to lift a finger, thanks to higher interest rates. Our proposal, for a 38% levy on net income above £800m on UK banks’ domestic arms, would bring in £19 billion from these four banks alone; (and over £20 billion if you add in Santander) enough to cover Andy Burnham’s cost of living pledges on cutting VAT on electricity bills, the £2 bus fare cap, and business rate cuts for pubs, clubs, and music venues more than 13 times over. 

Pressure started to mount as Sky News’ Economics Editor said “of all the tax opportunities out there, a tax on banks…is the most likely thing to happen in a Budget”, the Green Party endorsed taxing banks’ windfall profits, joining the Liberal Democrats, and the policy featured prominently in General Secretary Paul Nowak’s speech at the TUC’s annual conference. 

With the cost of living crisis accelerating everyday, the government cannot afford to ignore these billions sitting on the table that could be used to help millions across the country with vital short-term support, as our Head of Campaigns and Communications made clear in an interview with LBC. We hope Chancellor Healey will learn from the mistakes of his predecessor, Rachel Reeves, who kowtowed to big City lobbyists and chose to hike taxes on ordinary people instead of the banks in the November 2025 Budget - which became her last. 

And a huge thanks to the over 96,000 people who added their name to the petition and to Martin Pope, our photographer, for the fantastic shots!

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