Reinstate windfall tax on banks after surge in profits, TUC urges

An increased windfall tax should be imposed on the UK’s largest banks according to trade union leaders, after the big four lenders reported almost £14bn in first-quarter profits, partly fuelled by market turbulence caused by the Iran war. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) renewed its call for an increase in the current bank surcharge, which was reduced from 8% to 3% of profits above £100m by the Conservative government in 2023, as banks benefit from the high interest rate environment. The Bank of England held interest rates at 3.75% last week , with markets pricing in up to two increases by the end of this year. The average two-year fixed mortgage rate was 5.77% on Tuesday according to Moneyfacts, compared with 4.83% before the start of the conflict in the Middle East. Over the past week, the UK’s big four banks – Barclays , HSBC , Lloyds and NatWest – reported combined profits of £13.8bn for the first quarter. “Getting banks to pay more tax on their profits is plain common sense when they’re raking in billions and the rest of the country is struggling to get by,” said Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC. “With Donald Trump’s war abroad unleashing economic chaos at home, it’s only right that banks’ bumper profits are taxed fairly and used to shield households and firms from the damaging impacts of the war.” The big four high street banks – Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and NatWest – made a combined £13.8bn in profits in the first quarter of 2026. …